Roku May Show Ads While Games or TV Shows are Paused

Roku filed a new patent late last year for a new technology that will allow it to show more ads when TV shows or games are paused on Roku TV.

The patent, which is still pending, will allow Roku to detect what someone is watching or playing (on their Apple TV or gaming console, for example) via HDMI and show related ads when the content is paused.

Roku has previously monetized inactivity using its Roku City Screensaver as an advertising platform. It initiated sponsorship opportunities for the screensaver last May, featuring prominent brands like Walmart and McDonald’s. The screensaver has been successful, which is probably why the company doesn’t allow developers to add their own screensavers to their apps running on Roku devices.

However, developers of apps running Roku can build dedicated screensavers, which can be downloaded to replace the default Roku City Screensaver.

But, Roku’s reliance on HDMI input is a major challenge that it needs to deal with to make this new business model successful. This is because HDMI inputs become inaccessible to Roku when users switch to external devices like game consoles or competing streaming adapters.

The patent application aims to address this limitation by monitoring the audio and video signals transmitted through HDMI ports, enabling Roku to detect moments of inactivity on a user’s device. The company will have to keep a close eye on users’ activities to avoid randomly interrupting video streams or video games.

This means that Roku will be able to see what people are watching in real-time, which might raise privacy concerns among its customers. The company’s privacy policy already allows it to “receive information about your interactions with the Roku Services, such as your browsing history, search history, search results, audio information when you use voice-enabled features, interactions with content and ads, and settings and preferences.”

To produce relevant ads, the company wants to use audio and video content recognition technologies (ACR) to identify the context of paused content. For instance, if a user pauses a movie on an Apple TV, Roku could analyze the scene and display ads related to the content the user was watching before the pause. With the extra level of tracking this patent seeks, Roku might face some backlash regarding its privacy policies.

While the company is yet to make an official comment on its pending patent, the company’s action seems justifiable, as it reported a loss of $44 million on the sale of smart TVs and other streaming devices in 2023. However, Roku generated a gross profit of about $1.6 billion from selling ads and services, which means it’s unlikely that the option to opt out of these personalized ads will be made available.