Roku tests putting ads in the worst place

The streaming business is turning more and more about how many ADS users are willing to stay in the name of cheap content. Roku insists this transaction to the limit with its first advertising tests that play in the worst place, just before you load your home screen. As can be expected, users are less excited than forced to watch ads just to choose the application they will use (which will probably cause them to watch even more ads).

Users of Reddit have published their experience randomly, gaining advertising for “unfulfilled” before having access to the home screen. Most people said advertising was about Disney Moana 2S A Roku spokesman confirmed these anecdotal reports in a statement sent to Gizmodo, calling it a “test” of ways to display advertising programming while maintaining a “delightful and simple user experience”.

Roku pointed out that the ad was missed, although it is unclear if users do not see the opportunity to stop the video player early. We asked Roku if the advertising test was limited to smart TVs working with Roku OS, or any of the best boxes set, but the company did not respond to these requests.

ROKU users in Reddit were not too pleased with the sudden influx of ads before they could even choose the content they wanted to watch. Employee ForumSome users have promised to “throw away” their boxes if these ads become permanent.

The real question is how much wider Roku audience will be interested if Roku floods with even more ads. In addition to its streaming outfit, ROKU is prominent on many TCL-marketers, which only helps to add to its popularity along with the free-based ROKU channel. In January the company firm Its user base has reached nearly 90 million households in the US, Canada and Mexico. Which is many boxes to serve ads.

Roku almost always depends on the ads and his data collection apparatus. The company collects data for users who can then sell to advertisers or data brokers, which then return to the advertising pipeline. The same can be said for many Smart TV operating systems, including Amazon’s Fire TV and Vizio likes with its Smartcast OS. Last year, Walmart bought the Vizio brand for $ 2.3 billionMost of all in the name of your user data.

But companies run out of places to show these ads. Last April, ROKU CEO Anthony Wood described plans to put more video advertising on the home screen. It was in a place he cited as the “marks”, which usually shows a static ad. This news came after patents showed that Roku had studied how it could show users ads When they stopped the contents of third -party hardwareas a video game console. Although this has not entered into force either in Roku or Smart TV boxes working with ROKU OS, it was a sign of how the company is looking to increase revenue.

It Last call callThe company further positions ads as a major business engine. Wood told investors that their strategy is to “use our home screen” better, beyond Marquee’s ads. “We are very careful to post ads on our home screen.” In addition, the Executive Director implied that the company did not want to “interrupt” the home screen, saying that “we are very focused on both more monetization, but also to stimulate increased customer satisfaction.

WhenENSHITFCATION“The end result is from technology companies looking for endless growth, ads will surely follow. The whole library of classic moonsS Now one of the best and fewer ways to watch bugs bunny holds it to Elmer Food is from Looking at it on RokuS

If enough people get tired of Roku’s advertising workload, you can find some users who will be the “duck season” on their best boxes.