Pop-up adverts on smart TV irk consumers

Short adverts popping up on smart TVs whenever they are on have left many consumers furious.

[File photo: IC]

The pop-up ads will automatically play on smart TV brands like Sharp, Skyworth, Xiaomi, Letv, Changhong, Kangjia when they are on. The duration of the ads vary from 15 seconds to 1 minute and it appears there is no way to skip or turn them off.

TV brands like Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung and LG do not have the pop up ad.

Liu Jiahui, a lawyer based in Beijing, said the imposed ads are a violation of the Advertising Law. He suggested the smart TV sets should have a visible button that gives consumers the option to disable the ads.

The after-sales customer service personnel explained the smart TV takes longer to start than traditional TV. In order to prevent users from being too boring in the waiting process, they inserted the pop up ad when the TV was turned on.

Experts say the low price of smart TVs is the reason behind this type of advertisement. Membership and advertising revenue are reportedly part of the companies' common business model. Removing the ads would mean an increase to the retail price of the TV sets, which may end affect the market share. But experts also stressed that companies should label whether their TV brands do come with pop-up ads.