Starting with the 2011 TV models, Sony XBR Televisions featured a new user interface designed by the San Diego team. This UI also included a “Recommended” menu item, which in fact was used for advertisement and other messaging to generate after-sales revenue. It was the first time to include advertisement on the main TV user interface, probably industry-wide.
The San Diego advertisement approach was basically about selling the ad-space to advertising agencies, so that Sony would not deal with advertisement aggregation. The system was later expanded to Sony Blu-Ray players.
Recommendations in the TV UI
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