One thing that literally everyone agrees on is that people love ads. Can’t get enough of them. “More ads please!” —ad fans. And TV manufacturer Samsung has heard your calls. Last June, they began rolling out additional ads in the menus for their smart TVs (web-enabled sets with apps similar to an Apple TV or Roku) in the U.S. The program will soon expand to Europe as well, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The plan is to squeeze a bit more revenue out of the company’s declining TV business, which has seen sales drop six percent since that same quarter last year and currently maintains low single-digit margins.
As the owner of a Samsung smart TV, I can say anecdotally that I have no idea what this means — because I never use my TV’s smart features. The menu and interface are slow and sluggish and a chore to navigate. Dedicated hardware like an Apple TV or any other set-top box work much better. It’s worth the hassle of a second remote. So … good luck to Samsung, I guess? The TV picture is great — I used your apps once.
