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According to Doug Lynch at xda-developers.com:
Android TV owners recently received an update across multiple platforms that have started to display sponsored content with a "Promotional Channels' title in the launcher of the Android TV software. We're currently seeing reports that it has shown up in Sony smart TVs, the Mi Box 3 from Xiaomi, NVIDIA Shield TV, and others. This has been an incredibly off-putting change for a lot of Android TV users. What makes matters worse is people were unable to disable the ads at first, but Reddit user Felisens seems to have figured out how to disable them.
[...] Update: Google's response
A Google spokesperson gave us the following statement:
Android TV is committed to optimizing and personalizing the entertainment experience at home. As we explore new opportunities to engage the user community, we're running a pilot program to surface sponsored content on the Android TV home screen.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 05 2019, @01:58PM (9 children)
Ads on TV? What could go wrong? A lot ...
Even though people have less (or no) control over the physical (or digital) products they purchase, they do have a lot of control over their choices and brand loyalty. Intrusive is not a good marketing approach for long-term customer loyalty or retention.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday April 05 2019, @02:08PM (7 children)
Except that company 1 sees company 2 being intrusive and supposedly profitable and so company 2 does it. Then company 3 gets into the act. There is no company 4, because the market won't support more than 3.
When all players become equally intrusive you will have no distinguishment in the market between them. And the market has proven time and time again that the pink elephant who tries to advertise that it is the NOT intrusive one will fail and be trampled to death by the mobs clamoring for what the grey elephants put out.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 05 2019, @02:13PM (2 children)
Then don't buy a smart TV, or don't hook it up to the internet. Those choices are still in the hands of the consumers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 05 2019, @06:50PM (1 child)
Until there are no TV's left except smart TV's, or the day that the TV's will be required to have an internet connection to work at all.
Enjoy your freedom while you have it, for it is unlikely you'll ever get any more of it unless you wash your hands of the whole thing and decide you don't need to consume media on video anymore.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday April 05 2019, @08:34PM
Yeah! Get away from consuming video. Read DRM'd books and paywalled websites, and listen to music through services that spy on you instead!
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday April 05 2019, @03:23PM (1 child)
Yeah, there's often a lot of call for "vote with your dollars", but I really am getting damn close to "vote with my guillotine" being the best and fairest approach to express my views to the market.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday April 05 2019, @10:10PM
I am more down the line of the way Prohibition was repealed. People were drinking left and right, regardless of law.
Well, now its Copyright and DRM.
We will get what we tolerate.
If they can piss off enough people, anyone promising to throw the whole DRM Copyright thing out on its ear will find themselves quickly elected to political office.
The same thing that ended prohibition.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday April 05 2019, @04:23PM (1 child)
So it's back to torrents and mythtv.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 05 2019, @05:09PM
Or don't buy a smart TV ... and display whatever content you see fit.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Snospar on Friday April 05 2019, @06:24PM
I've no problem with Ads on TV as long as that TV service is free to me, the viewer, and is somehow being paid for by the advertising. What I strongly object to is being forced to watch adverts on a service that I have paid for. Amazon Prime has started to stick adverts for other programs at the start of the content that I want to watch and I can't see any way to skip these or turn them off completely. I find that behaviour abhorrent as I'm trying to use a service I've paid for and one that isn't being subsidised by the advertising industry.
As usual the only people who get to access content without any of these forced adverts are the pirates and we wonder why their numbers continue to swell (according to the media industry).
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