Roku tests showing ads before you even reach the home screen, and it's infuriating users

Wouldn't it be great if your TV got even more annoying?

News By Carrie Marshall published 18 March 2025

(Image credit: Roku)

• Roku is testing ads that appear on startup
• Users say the sound is on and some can't be skipped
• Roku is keen to add more advertising to its platform

Some Roku owners are promising that "my Roku devices will be in the trash" if it goes ahead with its latest ad-serving idea: showing you an ad before you get to the home screen.

Disgruntled users are turning to online forums to describe what's going on and to express their displeasure. As one poster to r/Roku explained, "I just turned on my Roku and got an unskippable ad for a movie before I got to the regular Roku homescreen." Other Redditors confirmed that they too were getting the ads (via Ars Technica).

The ad that's causing concern was for Moana 2 (which just launched on Disney+) which users say auto-played with sound on when the Roku device was started up.

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Roku has confirmed that this is no accident, but it's not necessarily a permanent addition.

Attack of the unwanted ads

As Ars Technica reports, Roku has confirmed that the auto-playing adverts are supposed to be there as part of an experiment. Roku "has and will always require continuous testing and innovation across design, navigation, content, and our first-rate advertising products."

According to Roku, sticking an intrusive ad before the home screen is part of "providing a delightful and simple user experience." But from what I've seen online, users are far from delighted: for some this is a step too far on an already ad-heavy platform. And Roku could go further: as we've reported a few times, Roku's vision for the future of television is more sell-o-vision.

Roku isn't alone here, of course. The razor-thin profit margins when selling even the best TVs mean that many manufacturers see advertising and user data as absolutely vital ways of generating money in an increasingly competitive market.

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