(2017-04-11) Facebook Faces Resistance To Instant Articles

Facebook faces increased publisher resistance to Instant Articles

Facebook’s Instant Article push is in danger of fizzling. Many publishers are deeply unhappy with the monetization on these pages, with major partners like The NyTimes throwing in the towel.

it was one of the first batch of publishers to pilot Instant. But it stopped using Instant Articles after a test last fall that found that links back to the Times’ own site monetized better than Instant Articles

Facebook has been trying to be more responsive to publishers’ concerns

But in the past year, the Advertising market has become harder, forcing many publishers to look harder at pushing the subscription lever. And that’s an area where Facebook still falls short. Beyond the free digital subscription trial, Facebook hasn’t said it’s committed to letting publishers test paid subscription signups.