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Developing an application for Android TV, I have a question on the use of ads.

The Android TV layout guide states that:

Advertising on Android TV must always be full-screen. Ads must not appear alongside or over content. The user must be able to dismiss an advertisement with the D-pad controller. Video ads must be dismissible within 30 seconds of their start time.

Android TV does not provide a web browser. Your ads must not attempt to launch a web browser or redirect to the Google Play Store.

Google's Admob does provide interstitial ads. However, I am not clear whether it meets the other requirements:

  • Can ads be dismissed with the D-pad?
  • Are video ads dismissable within 30 seconds of their start time?
  • Do ads launch a web browser when activated, or are they "view-only"?

If Admob does not provide ads suited for Android TV, are there any other recommended networks that can be used?

Jose Gómez
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    Why so much hate? Any constructive comments? – Jose Gómez Apr 27 '15 at 21:58
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    The question seems reasonable, I don't see why it has been downvoted this much. Anyway, I haven't tried AdMob on ATV, but I would suggest going for something more customizable, like native ads. This allows you to display advertisement in the way you want. The downside is that the inventory is typically lower than normal ads, so you'll have to deal with that. – Sebastiano Apr 28 '15 at 11:21
  • @dextor thanks for the suggestion. However, the Android TV guidelines state that "Ads must not appear alongside or over content". Does that rule out native ads, or only if interpreted in a strict sense? – Jose Gómez Apr 28 '15 at 12:59

1 Answers1

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  • Can ads be dismissed with the D-pad?

    Yes they can (Press the "Back" button)

  • Are video ads dismissable within 30 seconds of their start time?

    I have yet to see a video ad served by Admob but I would guess that they would be dismissable as it would not make sense for Google to apply this limitation if their own ad network was not compliant.

  • Do ads launch a web browser when activated, or are they "view-only"?

    No web browser

As an addition, I have noticed that ads do not seem to be tailored towards Android TV at present. In my trial, most of the advertised apps were not compatible or installable on Android TV.

Kuffs
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  • The last point is key "most of the advertised apps were not compatible or installable on Android TV". I would expect ads for Android TV to be significantly different, maybe closer to Youtube's than to ads for normal apps or websites. – Jose Gómez Apr 28 '15 at 13:01
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    As would I. Maybe that will come as the platform evolves. – Kuffs Apr 28 '15 at 13:59
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    Apparently, Admob does not yet officially support Android TV: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/google-admob-ads-sdk/C2Zy1alvbDU/yKkz7dMmKnQJ – Jose Gómez Apr 28 '15 at 22:32
  • Does Admob still not support Android TV ? I had an app, one apk for both phones and Android TV. Can i put Admob in it ? I heard a lot of developers apps getting rejected when they'd put admob in TV app. – Ajji Feb 13 '20 at 20:05