Roku Overhauls 10-Year-Old OS With Permanent Home Screen Ad as Ad Revenue Hits $371 Million
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · May 27
Roku Overhauls 10-Year-Old OS With Permanent Home Screen Ad as Ad Revenue Hits $371 Million
13 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · May 27
Roku’s biggest OS redesign in 10 years turns the home screen’s right side into a persistent ad slot that stays visible as users move through the menu.
That space can run either streaming promotions like Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso or standard paid ads such as The Farmer’s Dog, with Roku saying the mix is not fixed.
The redesign also shrinks room previously used for recommended content and app tiles, extending a broader homepage rollout that added Quick Access, Top Picks and personalized sections across US devices.
Advertising is central to the push: Roku reported $371 million in ad revenue in its latest quarter, while its Platform unit generated $584.1 million in gross profit and its devices business lost $19.1 million.
Is Roku sacrificing its simple interface and loyal users for a bigger profit with its new redesign?
With its AI-driven home screen, who really controls what you watch next: you or Roku's algorithm?