As if DirecTV doesn't have enough trouble keeping customers, the satellite TV provider's streaming devices will show AI-generated screensaver ads next year, according to an announcement today from partnering ads company Glance.
People who use either of DirecTV’s two Gemini streaming devices will start seeing the ads “in early 2026,” per the announcement. DirecTV’s Gemini Air is an Android TV-powered USB device that people can plug into a TV for access to live TV channels, as well as streaming apps. Gemini Air doesn’t require a DirecTV satellite connection, and DirecTV gives all of its Internet customers one. DirecTV first started selling Gemini devices in 2023, when it launched a separate Gemini set-top box that connects through DirecTV satellite setups.
DirecTV made an agreement with Glance to show AI-generated content and ads on Gemini devices' screensavers. Currently, Gemini devices show Google wallpapers as screensavers, which are on by default. When the new screensavers launch, Glance's AI content will show if the TV is idle for 10 minutes, The Verge reported.
For the unfamiliar, Glance is the same company that brought AI-generated lock screen ads with users’ faces to Samsung Galaxy phones in June. The Indian company recently started pushing its ad platform to smart TV operating systems, as well. Before generative AI took off, Glance shoved ads and tracking into phones through “lock screen experiences” that could also show desirable content, like news alerts. Glance is owned by InMobi, a mobile ads company whose past includes tracking unsuspecting users.
DirecTV's screensavers will let a user create an AI avatar of themself by scanning a QR code on the screensaver. Afterward, they can use the avatar to browse through different AI content. Users will also reportedly be able to dress up their AI avatars, allowing Glance's screensaver to recommend real-life products to purchase by performing a reverse-image search.
Rajat Wanchoo, Glance's group VP of commercial partnerships, told The Verge that Glance has a trillion SKUs that it can match to AI-generated images. Final purchases will occur via a phone or other device separate from the Gemini hardware.
According to a March blog post from Glance's VP of AI, Ian Anderson, Glance's avatars “analyze customer behavior, preferences, and browsing history to provide tailor-made product recommendations, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.”
In a statement today, Naveen Tewari, Glance’s CEO and founder, said the screensavers will allow people to “instantly select a brand and reimagine themselves in the brand catalog right from their living-room TV itself.”
The DirecTV screensavers will also allow people to make 30-second-long AI-generated videos featuring their avatar, The Verge reported.
In addition to providing an "AI-commerce experience," DirecTV expects the screensavers to help with "content discovery" and “personalization," Vikash Sharm, SVP of product marketing at DirecTV, said in a statement.
The screensavers will also be able to show real-time weather and sports scores, Glance said.
A natural progression
Turning to ad-centric screensavers may frustrate customers who didn't expect ads when they bought into Gemini devices for their streaming capabilities.
However, DirecTV has an expanding advertising business that has included experimenting with ad types, such as ads that show when people hit pause. As far as offensive ads go, screensaver ads can be considered less intrusive, since they typically show only when someone isn’t actively viewing their TV. Gemini screensavers can also be disabled.
It has become increasingly important for DirecTV to diversify revenue beyond satellite and Internet subscriptions. DirecTV had over 20 million subscribers in 2015; in 2024, streaming business publication Next TV, citing an anonymous source “close to the company,” reported that the AT&T-owned firm was down to about 11 million subscribers.
Simultaneously, the streaming industry—including streaming services and streaming software—has been leaning on advertising more to boost revenue. For some streaming service providers, increasing revenue through ads is starting to eclipse the pressure to do so through subscriber counts. Considering DirecTV's declining viewership and growing interest in streaming, finding more ways to sell ads seems like a natural progression.
With legacy pay TV providers already dealing with dwindling subscriptions, introducing new types of ads risks making DirecTV less appealing as well.
And it’s likely that things won’t end there.
“This, we can integrate across different places within the television,” Glance COO Mansi Jain told The Verge. "We are starting with the screensaver, but tomorrow… we can integrate it in the launcher of the TV."
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