This afternoon, I was updating the streaming apps on my 2020 LG CX OLED TV, something I do from time to time, but today was different. Out of nowhere, I saw (and heard) an Ace Hardware ad start playing in the bottom left corner. It played automatically with sound without any action on my part.
I am now fully aware that it is not uncommon to see advertisements placed around a TV’s home screen or main menu. LG, Samsung, Roku, Vizio and others are involved in this game. We live in an era when smart TVs can automatically recognize what you’re watching, and TV manufacturers are building good advertising deals for themselves with all the data that is channeled.
But that seemed very shocking, even by today’s standards. A random and complete commercial just appearing in the LG app store? Is there no way to escape these things? Let’s just stick ads in every corner of a TV’s software, huh? Imagine if an autoplay ad was started while you were updating apps on your smartphone.
Ace’s ad was not particularly annoying – it was over in 15 seconds – nor did it seem aimed at me or scary. It is really the positioning that seems like a step too far.
This material may seem invasive, but it is also partly what caused prices to drop even on state-of-the-art TVs. I have this 55-inch CX for sale for about $ 1,400, and it is practically the best TV on the market for next-generation games. But even if this beautiful panel was cheaper than it should be without ads placed in random places, the level of infiltration of ads running here is still discouraging to see. LG recently announced that it will license webOS to other TV brands, so perhaps the company is trying to see how far it can take things.
I think I can always cut the TV connection to the Internet and use a streaming device or my Xbox Series X if autoplay ads continue to show up everywhere. Or maybe I can choose to get out of a setup somewhere to shut down the dam. Some people don’t bother with these things, but if you are, take a look at this great Reddit topic, which can help you fight and block some of the domains these TVs link to in your ads. Many people on Twitter also pointed me to Pi-hole as a solution.