LG Wants to Show You Ads Even When You’re Not Watching TV

FlatpanelsHD precocious reviewed the caller LG G4 OLED TV and discovered that it subjects you to non-skippable screensaver ads, adjacent astatine the TV’s eye-watering $2,400 price.

The outlet reveals (via Android Authority) that the ads commencement playing earlier the screensaver hits the surface and are usually sponsored messages from LG oregon its partners. The reappraisal highlighted 1 circumstantial advertisement for the LG Channels app: LG’s escaped unrecorded TV work with ads. FlatpanelsHD adds that according to LG’s advertisement division, users volition soon commencement seeing ads for different products and services.

The reappraisal mentions that “some of the ads” tin beryllium disabled, and there’s besides an enactment nether ‘Additional Settings’ to disable screensaver ads. But it’s astir sinful to propulsion ads connected a $2,400 device.

What makes this full happening much bizarre is that, according to the review, LG pushes the aforesaid ads with the aforesaid frequence connected its cheaper offerings. Oddly, it does thing to differentiate the acquisition of purchasing a high-end exemplary from an entry-level one. The brand’s OLED enactment is already pricey, but the G4 is allegedly “one of the astir costly TVs connected the market,” according to FlatpanelsHD. I tin lone ideate however this volition play retired for the South Korean company. As FlatpanelsHD said, “LG indispensable reconsider this strategy if they privation to merchantability high-end TVs.”

According to LG’s ads arm, LG AD Solutions (via Ars Technica), the purpose is to capitalize “on idle surface time, turning what whitethorn beryllium perceived arsenic a play of downtime into a invaluable engagement opportunity.” More shockingly, the ads part discovered that screensaver ads thrust “on mean a 2.5 times higher assistance successful marque awareness.”

Most caller trends successful TV tech constituent towards converting downtime into ticker time, whether introducing a personalized screensaver of your Google Photos oregon generative AI-generated images. Let unsocial having to ticker ads during downtime, I wouldn’t adjacent privation a carousel of my camera rotation to commencement playing erstwhile I’m not watching anything. What’s incorrect with giving your eyeballs a interruption for a while?

As for LG, I’m disappointed but not surprised. It’s not the lone company using a palmy concern and marque loyalty to find caller ways to marque much wealth connected existing products and services. Back successful January, Netflix decided to permanently discontinue its cheapest ad-free tier. A fewer months later, successful July, it forced users to determination to a much costly ad-free tier oregon endure ads connected the cheapest tier.