Roku is facing a huge backlash over auto-playing ads that pop up before the home screen

All-new Roku TV unveiled at CES 2023 — (Image credit: Roku)

Roku designs some of the best streaming devices, but they are home to several annoying advertisements that are becoming more intrusive than ever before.

Case in point: Several Roku users are citing the introduction of pre-roll video ads playing right before they even land into the home screen.

Roku's ad era

Roku has always maintained big plans for its advertisements. After all, it's one of its largest sources of revenue, o why not bolster that part of its empire? Last year it rolled out video ads to most of its TVs and devices and now it's playing videos before users even load into the platform.

It's unclear just how many users are affected by these new startup ads, however. Roku has an ecosystem that spans across not only its own in-house devices and even some of the best Roku TVs, but also several older Hisense and TCL models.

The company was also reluctant to give ArsTechnica any additional details regarding why it decided to add these pre-roll ads and if they would remain a permeant fixture on the platform going forward.

A company spokesperson did specify that Roku "has and will always require continuous testing and innovation across design, navigation, content, and our first-rate advertising products," which isn't new for the brand.

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.
Roku spokesperson

Tom's Guide has reached out to Roku for additional comments on its new startup video ads and will update this page with more information as it rolls in. As of now, the major alteration is adding fuel to the fire of immense frustration for its users.

Roku is already packed with tons of different advertisements and this new change feels, for many of its users, a step too far. One user in particular stated on Roku's community forum that, if the ads persist in this way, they might end up trashing their Roku devices like they previously did with their Amazon ones.

To the dismay of many, this new wave of startup ads could only be the beginning. Last year, the company patented a way to show ads whenever you pause a show or game. While these types of ads haven't cropped up just yet, it's added evidence that Roku is and will continue to experiment in this field, which might mark now as the best time to get the ad-free Apple TV 4K.

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Ryan Epps is a Staff Writer under the TV/AV section at Tom's Guide focusing on TVs and projectors. When not researching PHOLEDs and writing about the next major innovation in the projector space, he's consuming random anime from the 90's, playing Dark Souls 3 again, or reading yet another Haruki Murakami novel.

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