Forum Discussion

SCGuy's avatar
SCGuy
Newbie
6 months ago

New Forced Start-Up Ads A Deal Breaker

The ads Roku forces on users has gone from minor annoyances to waaaay over the line.

It's gone from ads taking a third of the screen to forced video ads you have to endure before you even get to the main screen to choose what you want to watch. Who do these people think they are?

As I was reading multiple articles about the backlash against Roku over this, I came upon a Tom's Guide article that suggested AD-FREE Apple TV 4K streamer. A tad more expensive and a far superior product. I'll happily pay a few dollars more for a product from a company that RESPECTS thier users.

I plan to buy a Non-Smart TV, plenty of options there, and the Apple TV 4K and Roku can shove their ads down somebody else's throat.

Adios Roku.

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7 Replies

  • JWS9518's avatar
    JWS9518
    Roku Guru
    6 months ago

    Apple Tv is reportedly losing money at over one billion annually.  I would not count on them being ad-free long or not merging with some other streaming services at a later date.  But regardless, enjoy watching and using whatever makes you happy.

    • Sparky4's avatar
      Sparky4
      Newbie
      5 months ago

      That's Apple TV+ genius, has nothing to do with their hardware.

      • JWS9518's avatar
        JWS9518
        Roku Guru
        5 months ago

        Sparky4 I am happy to know you know better than everyone else.  They are owned by the same company and as one goes, so does the other.   Apple TV+ was developed to support the hardware and vice versa.  They will look to other sources of income to support the device, especially if part of the company is not being profitable.  All I said is that I would not count on that staying the same way with ads.  As one part of the industry with competitors, eventually so does the rest of the industry.  Just ask Southwest.  

        By no means do I support ads everywhere, however, consumers push for lower priced streaming devices and TVs and demand more from the hardware, which has helped to create this monster.

    • randallroman's avatar
      randallroman
      Channel Surfer
      6 months ago

      AppleTV+ is the service that is losing money by the bucketfull.  AppleTV is the device, and seems to be moderately profitable, and has been around a lot longer than the service. You can use them independent of each other. I don’t see Apple changing how they operate in this respect. 

  • andyross's avatar
    andyross
    Roku Guru
    6 months ago

    Try this: Go to Settings/Accessibility/Autoplay videos, and set it to OFF.

    • Strega2's avatar
      Strega2
      Roku Guru
      6 months ago

      I'm guessing that loss is at the Apple TV streaming service. It seems that most streaming services are losing money.

      I haven't seen one of these ads yet.  (I may have autoplay already turned off since I find that sort of thing distracting in general.)  If I do get autoplaying non-stoppable ads, I'll probably get something else like an Apple TV as well.

  • Infymus's avatar
    Infymus
    Newbie
    6 months ago

    This is really starting to make my blood boil with these ads. Watched a movie last night off my plex, forgot to turn the sound down. Turn the Roku on this morning and a full blast advertisement played. Really getting sick of this! Stop playing ads every time I turn on my Rokus! This is really pushing me towards looking for alternatives.