auto-playing video ad (with sound) on the home screen When it begins auto-playing, it pushes all the other UI elements out of focus and goes almost full-screen, returning to the home screen after it has played

While the above is technically accurate, I personally don't think it is representing the full truth.

CCwGTV UI HOME screen has always been split into 3 essential areas:

• Top menu: a menu allowing you to select / navigate beyond the CCwGTV Home screen. this is located at the top of the screen
• Center screen banner: usually displays 6 movie or TV show promotional ads. This banner takes up half the screen when un-focused, and the ad / movie / TV show promotion will auto-play without sound. If focused for more than 4 seconds, the ad / movie / TV show promotion will grow to fill the screen 90% and play with sound; however, any click of a button or navigation and the CCwGTV will respond / exit taking the user where they want to go
• Bottom Apps / movie / TV show suggestions: select / navigate different suggestions of movies, apps, or TV shows based on your recently watched, subscribed, or installed apps.

While I personally would prefer only seeing movie or TV show promotions, the current programming of the CCwGTV banner is a suitable compromise, in my mind. Why do I feel this way?

Prior to CCwGTV, I was a huge Roku user... I owned 5 Roku, one for each bedroom + Family room + travel. Each Roku was $80-$150, but the Roku experience was miserably sub-par compared to what they wanted it to be. Enter Google... for $50, the CCwGTV basically offered 97% of the features of the most expensive $150 Roku, and the experience was everything Roku wanted but couldn't deliver.

As it stands... I'm ok with how things are; you might not agree, but as others have said, you can enter App only mode, install a different launcher, or pi-hole out the ads. And for those that continue to complain they shouldn't have to do that for a product they paid for... yes, I agree... but I personally think Google aggressively under priced the CCwGTV for this very reason.

In addition, I believe the way CCwGTV currently shows one ad to 5 Movie or TV show promotions is a much better experience than what you'd get at a movie theater where you have to sit through several minutes of ads, on loop with sound, before the movie / TV show promotions even start.