This afternoon, I was updating the streaming apps on my 2020 LG CX OLED TV, which I do from time to time, but this was different today. Elsewhere, I saw (and heard) S hardware ads playing in the lower-left corner. It aut topped with the sound without taking any action on my part.
I am now fully aware that it is not uncommon to see advertisements placed on the TV’s home screen or around the main menu. LG, Samsung, Roku, Vizio and all others are in this game. We live in an age when smart TVs can automatically recognize what you’re watching, and TV manufacturers are creating great advertising businesses for themselves with all the data spread across them.
But even by today’s standards this has felt very vague. Will a random, full commercial or non-professional just pop up in LG’s App Store? Is there no escape from this stuff? We’re just going to cram ads into every corner of a TV’s software, huh? Imagine that a Topley ad starts when you update apps on your smartphone.
S place wasn’t particularly annoying – it ended in 15 seconds – that it didn’t hit me or felt weird. It’s actually a placement that feels like a step too far away.
This stuff can come across as aggressive, but it’s also partly what brings down prices on even high-end TVs with stability. I found this 55-inch CX on sale like 1,400, and it’s the best TV on the market for next-gen gaming. Even if this beautiful panel came out cheaper than it could have Without Plaster in ad random places, it’s still frustrating to see the level of ad infiltration on display here. LG recently announced that it would be licensing WebOS to other TV brands, so maybe the company is trying to see how far it can take things.
I guess I can always cut off the TV’s internet connection and stick to the streaming stick or my Xbox Series X if the Tople Commercial continues popping everywhere. Or maybe I can get out of the setting somewhere to finish the bar. Some people aren’t bothered by this stuff, but if you are, check out this excellent Reddit thread, which can help you fight back and block some domains from calling TV for their ads. A lot of people on Twitter pointed me to the pie-hole as a fix.
