Roku users have long complained about advertisement placements within episodes. They appear in the middle of scenes or during action sequences, instead of showing up at the appropriate breaks after scenes.
If you are among them, your complaints have been heard. Roku will now display ads only when you take a break from watching. Here's more on the new development.
Roku will no longer force you to sit through episodic ads
Roku filed for a patent in August 2023 for a system that applies ad insertion to media devices during short breaks. When the you pause content on your media device, or you switch to HDMI connected gadgets, the TV display can detect this event and insert an ad.
The system may also analyze the halted media content's context to show you personalized ads. Additionally, the display device may extract information from the control signal to determine the appropriate ad to display.
Although Roku’s patent is still pending and sounds highly sophisticated, it's a great idea as ads will no longer interrupt the flow of whatever you're watching. Plus, they're more relevant. I wouldn't want to see an ad about laundry detergent while watching a fantasy movie. It's possible that their system would show me trailers for other fantasy movies, or related games and merch, when I press pause.
Roku's intelligent ad system may still be intrusive
The ad system Roku is patenting suggests that you'll have more control over ads. Instead of randomly appearing in between scenes, like Spotify’s free version, you'll decide when you see them — to some extent. They only come up when you halt a movie for a bathroom break. So, basically, you don't even need to be around to see them.
Now here's the problem. Suppose I just pause a move to take a phone call or check my phone, what happens then? An ad popping up at that moment is still interrupting.
Some users may not be comfortable with the system even analyzing what they're watching or doing. There's also no clue on how many ads will appear in those moments. It could be two, or three, before you can resume playing again.
A money making scheme disguised as a user-first approach
While Roku’s patent seeks to improve your viewing experience, there's a strong financial incentive behind it. The company makes most of its money from ads and services, not solely hardware sales. They experienced a record loss of $531 million 2023, and the ad patent could be a significant contributor to boosting revenue.
The patent now gives them the right to inject ads even when you're not watching video content. Also, ads are more targeted, which means there's a higher chance that you'll sit through them.
Perhaps, the reactions from users afterward may bring refinements to the system in the future. But it'll take time before we hear of its approval. Patent examination processes are often thorough, especially for one of this nature. But we'll keep our eyes peeled for more updates on Roku's innovation. You should do the same.
