Pressing pause on Roku? You might see ads now - here's why

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET If you have a Roku TV or Roku streaming device, there's a good chance you'll see more ads soon. Also: How this Roku streaming stick made my 15-year-old TV feel like new again Over the past several days, users have noticed ads that appear on screen when content is paused. The ads are appearing on both TVs that run the Roku operating system and HDMI streaming devices like the Streambar Pro and the Roku Ultra, and they appear on content from a variety of channels and apps, including Discovery+. Roku What's new here? Pause ads themselves aren't new. Almost all major streamers, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Peacock, either use them now or have tested them recently. Even YouTube debuted a similar feature last fall. What's new here is that the ads aren't coming from the streaming service you're watching, but from Roku. Even if you pay for an ad-free tier of a streaming service, you might see Roku-provided ads when you pause the screen. Also: I ... Read full article.