LG smart TVs have started displaying ads when idle

LG’s smart TVs are starting to display full-screen ads before the conventional screensaver kicks in when entering idle mode. The native screensaver ads started rolling out to LG’s smart TVs earlier this month, including OLEDs like the new G4 model, and will appear across the homescreen, content store, and LG Channels.

The feature will advertise both LG’s own products — with FlatpanelsHD reporting it saw a muted ad for the LG Channels streaming service — and those from third parties that may be unrelated to TV or entertainment entirely. In a press release, LG Ad Solutions’ technology chief, Dave Rudnick, said that the ads were effective in testing and “present a valuable opportunity for brands to be front and center on the largest screen in the room.”

“In the past, a screensaver ad might have indicated that viewers had left the room, but today’s viewing habits are markedly different,” said Rudnick. “Now, 93 percent of viewers multitask while watching TV, engaging in activities like messaging, shopping, browsing social media, or playing games on their phones.”

As noted by FlatpanelsHD, the current screensaver ads can be switched off by clicking on “Additional Settings” under the TV settings menu and disabling the “Screen Saver Promotion” toggle. It isn’t clear which regions or specific smart TV models support the new screensaver ads, but LG has previously said it’s bringing more ads generally to the webOS platform running on over 200 million smart TVs globally toward the end of this year.

LG TVs are known to be fairly egregious when it comes to advertising — full audio auto-playing ads have been a feature on LG’s app store for over three years. But with LG now planning to bring its webOS platform to more third-party TVs and even its own non-TV hardware within the next five years, we may start seeing a whole lot more of them.