Roku Is Experimenting With a New Way to Force You to Watch Ads

Ads are an unavoidable part of modern life. They support both free and discounted services, for better or for worse, and unless you pay for premium services like YouTube Premium or expensive Netflix tiers, it's likely you'll run into these commercials one way or another.

But just because ads are deeply entwined in our digital devices, that doesn't mean they get a free pass in all situations. As reported by Ars Technica, it appears Roku is pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable here, experimenting with placing ads when you first boot up your streaming device.

Moana 2 ads are rolling on Rokus at launch

One Reddit user noticed the change when they turned on their Roku and was forced to watch a commercial for a movie before they could simply access the Roku home screen. This wasn't an ad placed before another movie or show: Roku simply wouldn't let the user access the device they paid for without sitting through an ad first.

The user posted about their experience on the r/Roku subreddit, where frustrated Roku owners confirmed the same was happening on their devices, as well. Multiple users received a Moana ad after turning on their Roku devices, and some threatened to ditch their Rokus over the situation. One went so far as to say, "my Roku devices will be in the trash" if the company keeps this up. The sentiment was the same in another thread, where users threatened to chuck their Rokus or switch brands for their streaming purposes. Someone even wrote: "I was indifferent to Moana. But now I will go out of my way to hate on that movie." (Disney might want to reconsidering its marketing strategy.)

According to Ars Technica, the ads are supposed to have a close button, though some users don't seem to see it when it pops up on their end. The outlet reached out to Roku, who confirmed the ads are intentional, but aren't yet official: Roku OS won't have permanent ads at start for the moment. It seems this is simply an experiment. If so, they're certainly receiving some valuable feedback from customers.

I understand why Roku users are angry. It's one thing to show static ads on the home screen—even that feels wrong on a device you paid for. But to stop you from being able to actually use your streaming device until you watch a commercial? The future isn't looking so bright.

Your Roku is designed for ads

While this experiment is pretty anti-consumer, it isn't all that surprising coming from Roku. The company, like many others, collects your data as you use its devices, and uses that data to, you guessed it, serve you ads.

Roku is very focused on ads as a business model, exploring ways to not only place as many ads on the home screen as possible, but potentially show you ads when you've paused content on a non-Roku device that is connected to your Roku TV. Yikes.

You expect ads in exchange for free content, but we've longed moved past this business model. Now, ads and data scraping subsidize devices and services. Your Roku Express only costs $30 (or less, depending on the deal), not because that's what the hardware is inherently worth, but because Roku is banking on you earning the company more money with your data and ad exposure. You pay less for the product, because you are the product. Now, sit tight, and watch an ad for Moana 2 before choosing to watch something else filled with ads.

Can you stop ads from appearing when starting up your Roku?

There's no official solution to this situation yet, and not all users will even see these ads when booting up their Roku devices. If you do, there might be something you can do about it, but it's complicated.

Roku has had static on-screen ads long before this current situation. While far less obtrusive than start ads, some users want to block all ads on their Roku devices. Since Roku, unlike a computer, doesn't have a native ad-blocker to install, many turn to Pi-hole, a service that can block ads on many sites across devices.

The issue is, setting up Pi-hole can be a bit technical. The company has a thorough walkthrough on its site to get set up, so if you're interested, go ahead and give it a scan. When properly configured, Pi-hole says it can block most ads across your devices, so you might notice a lack of ads across everything you use to access the internet—not just your Roku.