U.S. — Roku OS rolled out a home screen update to U.S. users that features a large, permanent advertisement displayed immediately upon startup. The ad remains visible while navigating the platform, occupying space previously dedicated to apps and content.

The marquee ad space promotes both streaming content—such as the Apple TV+ series "Ted Lasso"—and unrelated third-party paid advertisements, including one for The Farmer’s Dog dog food. Roku VP of viewer product Preston Smalley said the ratio of paid versus programmed ads in the space is not fixed and could change over time.

The update, which began rolling out automatically to Roku TVs and streaming devices in the United States, also includes a redesigned interface. The left sidebar now features a slimmer layout with images replacing text, while the center displays personalized "Top Picks for You" tiles based on user interests. A "Quick Access" section uses AI to surface frequently used apps and shortcuts, and users can pin a "Continue Watching" tile to return to recently viewed content—though playback requires entering the tile rather than starting directly from the home screen.

Roku also added "Destinations," curated hubs spanning genres and moods like comedies, sports, and movies, aggregating content across services. Smalley told Fast Company, "One of the things we found is that not very many people actually customized those app screens. They’d end up scrolling all the way to the bottom of this long list. So, what we wanted to do was actually pull that all together in a way that made sense for you."

Roku CEO Anthony Wood stated during a February earnings call that the new home screen, then in testing, would "increase monetization over time, whether that’s getting viewers to sign up for subscriptions or watch more ad-supported content." Advertising revenue totaled $371 million in Roku’s most recent earnings report, contributing to $584.1 million in gross profit from its Platform business, which includes ads and subscriptions. The company reported total gross profit of $564.9 million, while its devices segment posted a $19.1 million loss.

Not all users welcomed the changes. A Reddit user named Kruse criticized the update, writing, "I don’t want recommendations! I know what I want to watch. Plastering ads for shit you think I want to see is the fastest way to get me to not watch it. This is going to suck."