Android TV now includes sponsored content on the home screen

As part of a pilot program, Google has added a new section of sponsored content to some Android TV devices, confirmed the company in a statement XDA developers.

This reaffirms a previous report that some users would have noticed ads appearing on their Sony X900F TVs based on Android TV, although a statement from a Nvidia representative denied that the ads appeared on Shield TVs – this which implies that the problem could only be content for Sony smart TVs.

If the update has been deployed on your device, you will notice a new "Sponsored Content" line on the Home screen between the recommended content.

Unlike other channels on Android TV, those who have the update say that the sponsored line can in no way be personalized or removed in the usual way: to force these users to disable the Android TV Core Services application and manually restart the system.

That said, if no one likes to see ads popping up in a place where there was none before, which is particularly frustrating, this is the way Google has stealthily updated the update and the deadlines that some users had to go through to remove them.

Another victim of the age of advertising

Placing advertisements – or, as Google calls, sponsored content – is a thorny topic for television and home entertainment enthusiasts. Both TiVo and Roku were trapped when they added advertising to their respective devices and Vizio was fined $ 2.2 million for his deceptive advertising practices in 2017.

To his credit, Sony has already deployed a FAQ on the new sponsored content section on its televisions by answering questions such as "Which applications will appear in the sponsored channel?" and "Can I add or remove applications in the sponsored channel?" (Responses to these The questions are as follows: Google determines this setting, and not, they can not be deleted.)

What Sony points out in the post is that it's very clearly a Google mandate: Sony can use Google's smart TV platform, but it is not responsible for those ads.

Why does this happen? According to Google, "Android TV is committed to optimizing and personalizing the home entertainment experience. As we explore new opportunities to engage the user community, we are running a pilot program to display sponsored content on the Android TV home screen. "

… which, if you ask us, sounds like a very polite way of saying "we are putting ads on your TV".