Own a Google TV device and are a fan of its ‘apps-only’ mode that simplifies the smart TV menu? Then you may be about to see more ads where there were none before.
As reported by FlatpanelsHD, there have been reports of Google TV devices in a number of European countries, including Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and more, that have noticed large banner ads appearing in the ‘apps-only’ view of the home screen – a previously ad-free screen.
It’s worth noting that these banner ads have been in the ‘apps-only’ mode for some time in North America, but have now made their way to Google TV devices, which include some of the best TVs such as the Sony Bravia 8, TCL C855 and Philips OLED809, to devices in Europe.
FlatpanelsHD reports that the introduction of ads actually pushes the app icons in the ‘app-only’ mode almost off the screen, despite no sign of recommendations like you’d find on Google TV’s standard home menu.
It’s another instance of ads invading Google TV, with unskippable ads appearing on Google TV’s free streaming channels in the summer. But it’s not just Google TV that has jumped on the ad bandwagon.
LG recently introduced screensaver ads to its OLED TVs, such as the LG G4, and then weeks later followed this up with screensaver ads on older OLED models as well, such as the LG C3. Thankfully, there were are ways to turn these ads off, but just how long will that last?
Ads, ads, ads
Ads outrage has become a regular feature here at TechRadar, especially in the world of streaming and TVs. in 2024 alone, Roku TV has had plans to introduce video ads to its home screen, Amazon Fire TV has tested full-screen screensaver ads and on the streaming side, the best streaming services have raised prices for ad-free tiers or placed ads into more standard tiers, with Amazon announcing its Prime Video service will feature more ads in movies and TV shows in 2025.
The point is that ads are everywhere. With broadcast TV, we expected them at different intervals throughout TV shows, but I don’t think we expected them to feature quite as heavily as they do on devices that we pay for, be that TVs, streaming devices like Amazon Fire Sticks or Roku TV sticks, or streaming services – especially when we’d initially paid not to have them.
The fact that these ads are now on what was once an ad-free section of Google TV shows that ads are here to stay and we’re likely to see more of them infiltrating more devices soon. It’s just a matter of how intrusive they’ll be.
