Roku Tests Autoplaying Ads Loading Before the Home Screen
- Reference: 0176755371
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/03/17/2122232/roku-tests-autoplaying-ads-loading-before-the-home-screen
- Source link:
> Reports of Roku customers seeing video ads automatically play before they could view the OS' home screen started appearing online this week. A Reddit user, for example, [3]posted yesterday: "I just turned on my Roku and got an unskippable ad for a movie, before I got to the regular Roku home screen." Multiple apparent users reported seeing an ad for the movie Moana 2. When reached for comment, a Roku spokesperson shared a company statement that confirms that the autoplaying ads are expected behavior but not a permanent part of Roku OS currently. Instead, Roku claimed, it was just trying the ad capability out.
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> Roku's representative said that Roku's business "has and will always require continuous testing and innovation across design, navigation, content, and our first-rate advertising products," adding: "Our recent test is just the latest example, as we explore new ways to showcase brands and programming while still providing a delightful and simple user experience."
[1] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/roku-says-unpopular-autoplay-ads-are-just-a-test/
[2] https://community.roku.com/t5/Features-settings-updates/Video-Ads-Autoplaying-on-Homescreen/td-p/1051447
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Roku/comments/1jcuibl/question_about_ads/
Just trying to go out of business (Score:4, Informative)
Every week or two I have to remove some crap they add to my home screen. I don't see an option to stop this from happening so I just hide it every time something new shows up. I assume they can see that I keep doing this but pissing me off seems to be part of their business plan. Adding ads I can't skip will solve this problem since I will stop using my Rokus immediately.
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Out of curiosity, what streaming platform would you switch to? Google TV and Fire TV have been plastering full screen ads on their streaming products for months now. Is there still a streaming platform outside of Apple TV that hasn't been fully enshittified yet?
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Why do you need "streaming platform"? Every service that I know of will work via browser. More so, if you control your OS and browser you can do a lot more ad blocking.
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Some people still like to watch media on their big TVs. Count me among them. Fucking with an OS and a Browser is just not on my list of things I want to do when I want to just watch a show.
I've had a LOT of devices. A few Rokus are now in the drawer, along side of two Shields, a couple of Kodi boxes, and some miscellaneous answers to the problem. But now I've actually settled on... two Apple TVs. And they are by far the least intrusive, easiest devices I own that fit the purpose. I have Infuse for my media
Re:Just trying to go out of business (Score:4, Informative)
Most TVs will accept HDMI signal, at least mine does. Get a wireless HDMI transmitter or a long cable and you can watch media on a big TV without ads.
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I watch it without ads now, and I'm not interested in relocating my computer to watch stuff.
As I said, the Apple TVs do it perfectly, right up to uncompressed audio and HDR. Involving my computer or laptop in any way is a usability downgrade.
And they wonder why the film industry is dying (Score:2)
as they actively irritate *paying customers*
Dipshits.
Tivo is bad enough with their text ads popping up telling me to buy more shit...
Internet of Shit (Score:2)
When you don't control your devices other people can and do pee in your cereal.
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In your case, it was fully consensual.
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a child holds a dollar on a string and is later shocked by the inevitable
on the one hand, believing a digital device is "yours" admittedly involves more intangibles
on the other hand, ye sweaty neckbeards warned you about the string
> Control the computer or it controls you.
the device answers to you second
a headline of people who couldn't comprehend this, not until it hit them in the face
I'll say what everyone is thinking (Score:2)
Enshittification
In future Roku news ... (Score:2)
Roku devices play pre-home-screen ad for Roku showing it playing a pre-home-screen ad, for Roku ...
"it was just trying the ad capability out." (Score:3)
"Trying the ad capability out" is testing it in a lab under controlled conditions.
This is "seeing what we can get away with."
What I hate the worst about this (Score:3)
Is how modern software deployment means they can always push the envelope to see what they can get away with. You get this over and over and over again with companies and politicians trying to see just how much they can get away with before we revolt. Sure sometimes we will sometimes we won't but they're always going to come back to the well to see how much more they can get.
Most of us old timers laughed at horse armor. Well guess what One world of Warcraft mount made more money than all of starcraft 2. I saw an interview of one of the starcraft 2 Devs complaining about it. Gently so as to not piss off their masters.
They don't have to get us all on board for the next piece of shit they're going to do to us They just have to get a slim majority.
Trash awaits (Score:2)
> "users are threatening to abandon the platform if the change becomes permanent"
I will absolutely rip my Roku Ultra out and throw it in the trash if it forces *any* video or audio or *any* kind of content on me before I can go to the home screen, launch a "channel", or start a stream.
> "Our recent test is just the latest example, as we explore new ways to showcase brands and programming while still providing a delightful and simple user experience."
Please explain how annoying your users with content th
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Same here.
mpv feature request (Score:3)
Open Source and Free Software are getting their asses kicked when it comes to features. mpv still doesn't insert ads. When will we get this? I can't be the only user who is desperately asking for this, can I?
Never Turn It Off? (Score:2)
If it runs on boot, then never turn it off.
If it runs before every access of the home screen, even between Apps, round-file it and make the 86 inch TV a really large monitor for your PC running your internet browser. Also embrace OTA TV as much as possible.
This really needs to fail, the more expensively for Roku, the better.
This must stop (Score:5, Insightful)
I just noticed it last night, thought something was wrong with my remote... finally saw I had to navigate to a small "close" button on the right side. Absolutely not. If this continues, that thing will go straight to the trash. It's already painful enough to find ways to watch a damn show, and now what should be straight forward has been enshittified.
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I use old PC connected to a TV, but if you don't have one Raspberry Pi is cheap and Pi OS (Debian) is stable.
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> Raspberry Pi is cheap and Pi OS (Debian) is stable.
So, unfortunately, the Raspberry Pi is stuck between a rock and a hard place, which is sad, because it's perfect for the role.
The problem is that things like Kodi and LibreElec and OSMC will never have official support from any of the streaming services. There are workarounds to get Netflix and Hulu and Youtube added, but they are all CLI-based and take an afternoon to set up, and it's the cat-and-mouse game between those companies and the hopefully-well-meaning individual who managed to reverse-engineer an