Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Android TV Users are Seeing Ads after Latest Update

posted by martyb on Friday April 05 2019, @12:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the how-many-are-seeing-red? dept.

NotSanguine writes:

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.

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Android TV Users are Seeing Ads after Latest Update | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 72 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday April 05 2019, @05:53PM

    by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Friday April 05 2019, @05:53PM (#825031) Homepage Journal

    The summary should have explained this for those who don't know. I watch TV only on laptops and tablets and I'll never buy a "smart TV". Is Android TV a hardware product or some kind of software add-on?

    My apologies. However, I thought that the quoted section explained this fairly clearly:

    Android TV owners recently received an update [...] 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.

    I don't use Android TV and don't have any of the products mentioned. In fact, I didn't even realize that Google had any control over third-party TV devices that used Android. But it was pretty obvious to me what they were talking about from the context. As such, I didn't think it was necessary.

    Just so it's clear now:
    Android TV == A fork of Android used on TVs.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2