Android TV has ads in its launcher now

According to an XDA report, Google has started to implant ads - sorry, "sponsored content" - into the TV arm of the Android ecosystem. So far, this reportedly affects the Sony Bravia X900F, Xiaomi's Mi Box 3, NVIDIA Shield TV and some other devices.

The new content manifests itself as new objects on the Android TV launcher called "Promotional Channels". However, users have reported that it is impossible to customize this interface so as to hide or delete them as normal. Luckily, a Reddit post contains instructions that may address this. They involve navigating to the App settings for Android TV Core Services, uninstalling its updates, then rebooting the device.

Users capable of taking this action may then be advised to disable automatic updates for this app (and possibly others) in the TV's settings. These individuals may be able to either delete the ads, or turn a Channel Settings toggle to that effect off.

Nevertheless, this is a worrying indication that Google may aim to introduce more monetization features into platforms such as Android TV. Then again, Xiaomi used to do much the same with its MIUI OS, but has now pledged to reduce this practice in the future in response to user pressure.