- I tested the best AR and MR galsses: Here's how the Meta Ray-Bans stack up
- T-Mobile's data breach settlement payments finally rolling out this month - after April delay
- Cisco unveils prototype quantum networking chip
- What’s Next for MCP Security? | Docker
- Zero Trust: Begin your journey with these first steps
Pressing pause on Roku? Say hello to ads
If you have a Roku TV or Roku streaming device, there’s a good chance you’ll see more ads soon.
Also: How this Roku streaming stick made my 15-year-old TV feel like new again
Over the past several days, users have noticed ads that appear on screen when content is paused. The ads are appearing on both TVs that run the Roku operating system and HDMI streaming devices like the Streambar Pro and the Roku Ultra, and they appear on content from a variety of channels and apps, including Discovery+.
What’s new here?
Pause ads themselves aren’t new. Almost all major streamers, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Peacock, either use them now or have tested them recently. Even YouTube debuted a similar feature last fall.
What’s new here is that the ads aren’t coming from the streaming service you’re watching, but from Roku. Even if you pay for an ad-free tier of a streaming service, you might see Roku-provided ads when you pause the screen.
Also: Is your Roku TV spying on you? Likely, but here’s how you can take back control
Fortunately, the ads don’t appear every time you pause the screen; they seem to pop up at random. They don’t take up the whole screen but cover about 25% of it.
There is a page on Roku’s site promoting pause screen ads to advertisers, calling it a way to “sponsor the screen without disrupting the stream,” but that page mentions only the Roku Channel. Roku’s pause ads are appearing on other channels, too.
More ads
A report earlier this month from Ars Technica detailed how Roku has patented technology that can show ads over any HDMI-connected device, including video game consoles, cable boxes, and DVD players. Roku has also reportedly been testing unskippable ads that play when you turn on your TV.
Also: Your Roku TV is getting several updates for free – including a big one for Roku City
There’s no evidence Roku is rolling out either of those plans (or even has plans to do so soon), but this shows that the company doesn’t mind being heavy-handed with ads.
