Do you need a new TV? Do you hate advertisements? You might want to think carefully before picking up a Samsung television. The technology behemoth has been adding pop up ads to its Internet-connected TVs for years, but according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal the company plans to add even more ads to its smart TV lineup.
While Samsung ships more TVs than any other manufacturer, the first quarter of the year saw 20.9% decline in units sold, and a 6.3% year-over-year drop according to the Journal. It’s this stagnation in the TV market that’s inspired the boost in ads. In a statement to Wall Street Journal, Le Seung-woo, an analyst with IBK Securities explained, “Samsung is a competent TV maker, but this industry isn’t growing anymore. Samsung needs to find a way to monetize the business through content.”
There’s certainly is money to be made. According to the WSJ the company makes $20 to $30 million from these TV display ads.While that’s a tidy profit, it makes roughly $24 billion a year selling the sets themselves. If sales are slowing down, worsening the user experience for already loyal customers might serve as a quick influx of cash, but it could also turn off future buyers. Maybe consumers don’t mind being serviced ads from their consumer electronics. Only time will tell if TV purchasers will take these ads into account when making their next purchase.
The company plans to roll out software updates that add interactive ads to the menu bar. The new initiative started in the United States last year and is now crossing the pond, hitting smart TVs in the EU as well. What’s particularly troubling about this plan is that it will affect not just new televisions, but also the smart TVs that have been purchased months or years earlier.
