While scrolling around the Amazon Fire TV’s menus, you may have noticed that new banner ads have creeped their way into the device’s interface. The ‘Apps’ section and ‘Games’ section will now occasionally display relatively large ads at the top of the screen. These ads are different from the home screen banner ads in that they’re a bit larger and contain videos. Interacting with the ads, by moving the cursor over the buy/get buttons, will cause the video in the banner to autoplay. The video will immediately pause when you move off of the ad. Thankfully, like is the case with the home screen banner ads, pressing the right button on the remote to enter the Apps or Games section does not place your cursor into the banner ad, so you can navigate your library without interacting with the ad.

Earlier this week, the same banner ad found at the top of the Fire TV Stick home screen began appearing in the same previously empty spot on the Fire TV home screen. It seems like Amazon has flipped a switch this week that activated the banner. In addition to this banner, Amazon seems to be experimenting with additional advertising on the Fire TV platform. Several users have contacted me and gone to reddit to report that they’ve been seeing pre-roll video ads play before Prime videos on their Fire TV Sticks. Read more ›