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Roku Smart TV is currently testing out a new home screen interface as part of its Roku OS 15.1 update. Previously, apps that users had selected and arranged themselves were the focus of the home screen, so that you could easily watch the content you wanted to. Now, however, the focus is on revenue-driving ads. What is being promoted before your chosen apps is Roku’s own sponsored content.
Despite Roku’s various methods of keeping your home screen organized, this overrides your own personal settings. Two main changes are the Roku Live TV Guide and The Roku Channel app being pushed more prominently, forcing users to navigate past them to get to their own content. The Roku Live TV Guide is a separate app, not part of the normal interface. It functions a lot like standard channel browsing and allows you to favorite the live channels you want. The Roku Channel app is for Roku’s own original content as well as free TV options. All ad-supported, of course.
As of this time of writing, changes to the home screen layouts are in beta testing mode and not finalized. A select user base, consisting of millions of Roku TV owners, is under this beta testing. Whether or not the change becomes permanent likely depends on how well this trial period goes.
Why Roku may change the home screen
There are a handful of reasons why Roku TV would want to try out these changes. Obviously, these apps help to promote Roku’s own content, and the company hopes that users who like the offerings will stay with Roku.
Another reason is the ad revenue this type of change could potentially bring in. Roku gets a great deal of its revenue from ad-supported platforms. So capitalizing on these to drive even more money makes business sense. When comparing Roku to Amazon Fire TV Stick, Roku previously stood out for having less ad clutter than Amazon, but that may change if this type of alteration to the home screen becomes more commonplace.
There is also the possibility that this could increase the length of time viewers spend in front of their Roku TV. By consistently advertising its own internal content, even over user-selected apps, Roku has the chance to keep people constantly clicking to watch the next show and the next.
User reactions to the changes
Given that Roku is facing a class action lawsuit regarding its TV screens not working, it is logical to try to win back the good opinions of its user base and retain customers. A Reddit forum discussing the screen changes does have a lot of unhappy users, however. In it, there are complaints that “I had my apps all arranged how I like them and now I have to scroll down to find them”, that “I don’t need help in choosing what I watch”, and that with the new interface “Nothing about it was helpful, convenient, or even just aesthetically pleasing.”
The promoted apps aren’t rated very highly by users either. The Roku Live TV Guide has only three out of five stars within Roku’s own personal app store. The Roku Channel has an average of 3.69 out of five stars with over half a million reviews as of this time of writing.
The good news is, as of now, users don’t have to stick with the changed home screen. If you go under settings and then to the home screen options, you are able to change what appears on the screen, including removing apps that you don’t want. Since this is still in the beta testing period, there is no word yet that, if these changes are made permanent, you will still be able to remove these apps and arrange the home screen fully as you like.
