Samsung bring in new menu adverts for old TVs

New interactive advertisments will be making their way to Samsung smart television. Photo / Bloomberg

It's time to say goodbye to the days of simple television.

Samsung is expanding its advert business, adding a menu of adverts to its smart televisions - both new and old.

The tech giant - whose ads first appeared on Samsung smart TV's in the US in 2015 - is bringing a new selection of interactive ads to its televisions under a new tile on its main menu bar.

Adverts will not be limited to customers buying new Samsung televisions, as the company plans to use software updates to bring ads to older models too.

The ads will sit on the TVs' home screen, alongside the normal apps like YouTube and Netflix, linking to external content.

It has been suggested that these ads will prove to be unpopular with users.

Last year Samsung had to defend itself after a poorly-worded privacy policy gave the impression that it was using its televisions to listen in to conversations in users living rooms.

The company released a statement clearing up the controversy, clarifying that the televisions only listen to users in very specific circumstances - during voice recognition commands.

Increasing the number of ads and making them interactive is set to increase Samsung's revenues long after the televisions have been brought.

LG and Panasonic have also experimented with adverts on their TVs.