Even if you buy one of the most expensive TV models today, you can’t avoid advertising. LG will display advertising screensavers, including ads for things that are completely unrelated to the TV.
Almost a decade ago, advertising began to permeate the user interfaces of our televisions. Initially, it appeared as paid ads (“recommendations”), but this initiative has since expanded to include large advertising carousels at the top of the screen and full-screen ads that take up the entire screen.
While reviewing the latest high-end LG G4 OLED TV, a Flat panels HD journalist discovered that it now shows full-screen ads in the splash screen. The ad appeared before the regular screen saver was turned on, as shown below, and was localized according to the region where the TV was installed.
Then the journalist saw how ads for LG Channels, the company’s free ad – supported streaming service, were displayed, but ads from external partners can also appear in full-screen mode, as shown in the company’s own example below.
The ads we saw were muted, but we don’t know if they will continue to be so. We’ve seen ads on the 2024 LG model, but there’s no reason to believe that it will be distributed exclusively to the new LG Smart TVs.
Who is responsible for LG’s webOS ?
Digging a little deeper, we found that the initiative is led by LG Ad Solutions, the company’s “connected TV (CTV) and interstitial advertising” division.
Announcing ads in splash screens on LG Smart TVs sounds like the advertising team’s priorities are now dwarfing those of the LG webOS team:
The launch of our splash screen ad was a significant milestone in increasing viewer engagement on LG Smart TVs. This full-screen ad format effectively uses screen downtime to increase brand awareness. Feedback and research have confirmed that these ads attract attention and drive meaningful engagement, making them an integral part of our advertising offerings,” said Chris Weiland, Director of Product Marketing at LG Ad Solutions.
Amazon, Google, and Roku have long built their TV monetization strategies on advertising, and after LG and Samsung turned webOS and Tizen into digital billboards, the only safe haven seems to be Apple TV 4K, which can be connected to any TV. Now you can disconnect your TV from the Internet.
How to disable ads on the splash screen of LG smart TV’s
Fortunately, there’s a way to turn off intrusive ads in the splash screen on LG Smart TVs – at least for now.
If you go to “Settings” and go to the “Advanced Settings” section, you will find the “Ads on Splash Screen” toggle switch. It is enabled by default, so disable it. While you’re there, you might want to disable other advertising formats from LG as well.
It is possible that in the future, the ability to disable ads will also be monetized somehow: for example, I will make a paid subscription “View without ads”. And then, this subscription will only be extended to some channels 🙂 Marketing is like that.
