Not only do we have ads on our streaming services now, but also, they’re now becoming increasingly common in our TV operating system as well. While ads were previously limited to movies and shows that were streaming on specific streaming services, lately they have been opened up to real-life products and services. Google TV was one of the first ones to “worsen” its ad experience, and now, it’s getting even more annoying.
Owners of the Chromecast with Google TV are sharing their fustrations with an increase in auto-playing video ads on their home screens. Previous ads focused on digital content, and they recently started pivoting towards real-world products. Now, though, the ads have seemingly hit a new low. Some owners have spotted some annoying auto-playing ads from sister brands Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s. The ads feature sound and take up the majority of the screen, overshadowing other user interface elements. You can back out of the ad by hitting the back button, moving on to the next carousel item, or let it autoplay.
This is the end result of a slow ramp-up in Google TV ads: first were full-screen banners for new movies and TV shows, then ads with sound, and now the ads aren’t limited to something you can watch. The shift towards advertisements has led some TV makers to seek out alternative smart TV platforms (like TiVo), and we wouldn’t be surprised if more TV owners do the same.
Amazon has very recently also announced very similar changes to its Fire TV experience, opening up top-banner ads to third-party advertisers. By this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if almost every major TV operating system goes a similar route. Companies want more money, and putting paywalls on everything and increasing subscription prices isn’t cutting it alone. Smart TVs are so inexpensive partially because they are subsidized with software promotion and ad revenue, and non-smart TVs (“dumb TVs”, if you will) are increasingly rare.
If you haven’t seen these ads yet, they might show up over the course of the next few days or weeks.
Source: 9to5Google, Reddit (1, 2) via Android Authority
