Roku Eyes Patent That Would Inject Ads Into… Everything

When last we checked in with our friends at Roku, they had made the unpopular decision to effectively “brick” user streaming hardware and television sets if users didn’t agree to a typically draconian end user agreement that effectively bans your legal right to sue the company.

Eroding your legal rights using fine print isn’t new; it’s been a U.S. corporate standard since the Supreme Court gave AT&T the green light to do so way back in 2011, and part of Roku’s plans since 2019. Being extra annoying about it was a new wrinkle; but this too isn’t all that uncommon for publicly-traded companies trying to boost growth, revenues, and market share at any cost.

But such behavior has diminishing returns, of course. You can cross a threshold where you’re so focused on boosting revenues that you forget about the end user experience and drive users to the exits through sheer annoyance.

That’s the mode Roku’s clearly in now, as made evident by recent behavior and a new patent the company has filed that would help the company force ads on top of whatever you’re watching on your Roku TV, regardless of whether or not you have a third-party device or game console attached:

“A patent application from the company spotted by Lowpass describes a system for displaying ads over any device connected over HDMI, a list that could include cable boxes, game consoles, DVD or Blu-ray players, PCs, or even other video-streaming devices. Roku filed for the patent in August 2023, and it was published in November 2023, though it hasn’t yet been granted.”

So, in other words, if you attached a third-party streaming competitor’s device to your Roku TV, and the TV detected that you had paused playback, it would insert a static or video ad into the screen. Of course it’s just a patent and doesn’t mean this will be implemented, but it is kind of representative of the broader “smart” TV sector, which cares less and less about product quality as it pursues data monetization.

For years all I’ve ever wanted from TV manufacturers is an extremely “dumb” 4K 65 inch TV that has a whole bunch of HDMI inputs, but no “smart” internals. Since I know the real money is increasingly made from spying on users and monetizing their every fart (while failing to properly secure the collected data), I’ve even been willing to pay extra for simplicity, quality, and privacy.

Yes, I know I can simply not connect my TV to the internet. But that’s not fixing my problem. Even basic HDMI switching and settings are now tethered to clunky, bloated, smart internals and GUIs that take time to load, and get slower as the TV ages. Some manufacturers also block you from basic functions unless you agree to be tracked and monetized. And yes, I could also buy a business-class set, but such options are cost prohibitive and often lack features like HDR.

Instead of having a business segment that tailors to people who simply want a quality, dumb-as-a-box-of-hammers television, the market keeps heading in the other direction (like this TV that shows ads on a second screen, constantly, even when the primary TV is off).

I know why they’re doing it, but I don’t have to like it. And I know that given the tendency of publicly-traded companies to push their luck to please Wall Street’s incessant demand for improved quarterly returns, there eventually comes a point where user annoyance causes a revolt, and the company in question usually stumbles forth anyway, oblivious.