Chromecast with Google TV is now serving some users with full-screen, auto-playing video ads for physical goods on the home screen. Read on!

Reddit users thevincentasteroid and MMD3_ posted about an auto-playing video ad (with sound) on the home screen. The ad is for Chicken Tender Wraps from Carl’s Jr. When it begins auto-playing, it pushes all the other UI elements out of focus and goes almost full-screen, returning to the home screen after it has played through once.

  • fishpen0@lemmy.worldEnglish
    262·
    9 months ago

    When you say it always has worked this way what is your frame of reference regarding time? I haven’t owned a chromecast in about 6 years. However prior to that chromecast had no ads whatsoever so the idea that there are ads at all is shocking to me. It certainly hasn’t always been this way. (I currently use an Apple TV)

      • pixxelkick@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        9 months ago

        I bought CCwGTV when it first came out, I don’t recall the adbar at the top ever not being present.

        It just was strictly ads for TV shows / movies for the first while and “external” ads for stuff like mcdonalds only showed up later.

        But I’m pretty sure I remember ads for Black Widow on it front and center, and that was only 5? 6? months after it came out. (The ads were showing up 1-2 months prior to theatrical release iirc?)

          • pixxelkick@lemmy.worldEnglish
            11·
            9 months ago

            Oh, yeah innthat case I agree.

            Either way the mechanic of “you have to move the cursor to purposefully hover on the ad, abd then wait multiple seconds, and then not click anything” opt in behavior on the ads has lnt changed since day one.

            So seeing news articles pretending this is anything new at all really just goes to show how shit “journalism” has gotten over the years. Literally like, 5s of looking this up and you’ll find out this isn’t anything new.

            SMH

    • pixxelkick@lemmy.worldEnglish
      64·
      9 months ago

      I bought the Chromecast with Google TV (older version, not the newer 4k one, which I also own now) when it first cane out.

      The home screen hasn’t changed since day 1 when I plugged it in.

      It always had an ad at the top, and you always have had to purposefully move the cursor onto the ad itself and not touch anything for multiple seconds before it played.

      I owned the OG chromecast and chromecast 2 before that, and you are right, that one didn’t have ads, but it also didn’t have much of anything really.