More sponsored buttons coming to a remote control near you

More sponsored buttons coming to a remote control near you

21 May 2021 | Rasmus Larsen |

From one to two to four to six – and even more. Sponsored, or branded, buttons are creeping on to our remote controls, and soon even smaller streaming services will have their own button.

Sponsored buttonsYou may already have Amazon, Netflix and YouTube buttons on your remote control – maybe even Disney+. Netflix took the first steps back in 2011 when it convinced makers of Blu-ray players to put a 'one-click' button on their remotes.

While some of these buttons may be useful to users who subscribe to the streaming services featured on their remote, each individual button is ultimately the result of a commercial agreement between the streaming service and the hardware manufacturer.

- "Branded buttons like these have long been paid product placements, with streaming services paying around $1 per remote to put their brand closer to a consumer's fingertips. However, as streaming services grow, these buttons have also become part of numerous turf wars. Netflix, for instance, has for years forced device makers to include a branded button in order to get access to its app, according to industry insiders," reported Protocol.

If the remote control had been designed with the consumer – the end user – in mind, the buttons would have been fully customizable shortcut buttons, just like the good old numbered buttons on remotes. By changing the order of channels on your TV, you could put any channel on '1'.

Vizio's 2021 remote control has 7 branded buttons

About to get even worse
Sponsored buttons are sometimes compared to the 'bloatware' pre-installed on new PCs or mobile devices, but there is a difference between software and hardware. Even if you manage to remap a button (it is sometimes possible to do with third-party apps), it will still have a permanent sticker on it.

In recent years, consumers have witnessed an increasing number of sponsored button creep on to their remotes, even from smaller services like Sling TV, Vudu, Xumo, Crackle and Rakuten. In addition, we are starting to see buttons that direct the user to the TV maker's own streaming service (LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, Google Play etc.). Some TV remotes even have multiple voice assistant buttons dedicated to Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant etc.

It is already a widespread problem in the industry and it is about to get even worse. In 2021, new buttons will appear from Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Tubi just to name a few. Vizio's 2021 remote has no less than 7 sponsored buttons.

In the streaming wars, money comes first. Happy streaming!