The next time you navigate to the Home screen on your Roku streaming video player, expect to see something new: a video ad that begins playing automatically.
Roku execs have long been promising new ad “experiences” for the Roku interface, and as Cord Cutters News reports, one of them has arrived—an autoplay ad that takes over the static “Marquee” ad spot on the Roku Home tab.
The video as marks yet another attempt by the big streaming video platforms to mix revenue-generating ads into their UIs without unduly ticking off viewers.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best streaming video players.
The trick, of course, is not going too far with the ads—and indeed, some of the top streaming platforms have stepped well over the line separating tolerable from flat-out annoying.
So, how did Roku fare with its new video ad? Fairly well, as it turns out, with the streamer taking—for the moment—a cautious approach.
The new Roku video ads sits in a familiar spot on the Roku Home screen—the so-called “Marquee” spot, which sits to the right of the app grid on the Home tab.
Roku’s new video ads stick to the Marquee spot to the right of the screen, and for now, there’s no auto-playing sound.
Ben Patterson/Foundry
Previously, only static ads would appear in the Marquee space. But now, you may see an autoplay video ad showing up.
The video ad I saw during my testing was for Tubi, and it was reasonably unobtrusive. The ad stayed within the Marquee spot, and while it began to play automatically, there was—thankfully—no sound.
It’s also worth noting that Roku’s new video ads don’t appear the moment you fire up your Roku player; instead, they appear only on the Home tab, which you must click to view.
The new Roku video ad is just a baby step compared to what Amazon and Google have tried.
Amazon has led the way when it comes to obnoxious ads on its Fire TV players, complete with autoplay video ads that essentially take over the screen, complete with audio. Indeed, Amazon just dialed back the ads, which now leave a sliver of room at the bottom for your apps.
Google, for its part, has begun hawking physical products on the Google TV carousel, a change from ads that typically promote other streaming providers or services.
Of course, there’s no telling what Roku will try next with its home screen, but for now, this video ad experiment seems somewhat tame.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.