iSponsorBlockTV
Hacker ApprovedRanked 10 of 16 ad blockers by recommenders
A free tool that runs on a home server and automatically skips sponsor segments and mutes ads in YouTube on TVs. Critics say it is a weaker substitute for the Android TV version and muting fails with HomePods.
A free tool that runs on a home server and automatically skips sponsor segments and mutes ads in YouTube on TVs. Critics say it is a weaker substitute for the Android TV version and muting fails with HomePods.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Auto-skips sponsored segments in YouTube
“It auto-skips the sponsored segments and with Youtube premium, it gives me a clean, ad-free setup.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” “I even have it setup on my home server so it skips sponsor segments on my Apple TV”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “uBlock filter list to hide all YouTube Shorts” “automatically skips segments in YouTube videos using the SponsorBlock API”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “TiVo to charge money for skipping commercials in your own recordings” - Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “New Apple TV 4K”
Auto-mutes and skips YouTube ads
“in addition to skipping sponsored segments, it also mutes YouTube’s own ads and auto-skips them as soon as it can”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Someone at YouTube Needs Glasses: The Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled” “it auto-mutes ads, and auto-skips once the skip option is available”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” “it auto mutes and auto skips ads”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “I didn't realize my LG TV was spying on me until I turned off Live Plus” Runs on a home server
“Sponsor Ads can be blocked on the Apple TV YouTube app using iSponsorBlockTV on a home server”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “An ad-free Android TV” “I even have it setup on my home server so it skips sponsor segments on my Apple TV”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “uBlock filter list to hide all YouTube Shorts” “It's pretty good, I run this on my little server.”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “Someone at YouTube Needs Glasses: The Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled” Works on Apple TV
“Sponsor Ads can be blocked on the Apple TV YouTube app using iSponsorBlockTV on a home server”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “An ad-free Android TV” “I even have it setup on my home server so it skips sponsor segments on my Apple TV”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “uBlock filter list to hide all YouTube Shorts” “Not as good as smarttube on nvidia shield, but best you can do on tvOS.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Muting fails with HomePods
“automatic muting doesn't work when HomePods are the default output”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Someone at YouTube Needs Glasses: The Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled” Weaker than the Android TV version
“It's a poor substitute for the Android TV version”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Twitch: "Hey, come back! This commercial break can't play while you're away."”
Other ad blockers people recommend
The four most recommended other ad blockers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| uBlock Origin | 765 | 71 | 92% | 13 | 2 yrs9 owners | Approved |
| uBlock Origin Lite | 148 | 65 | 69% | 12 | 1 yr5 owners | Approved |
| AdGuard | 78 | 8 | 91% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Wipr 2 | 41 | 7 | 85% | 11 | — | Approved |
| iSponsorBlockTVThis page | 13 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
13 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Sponsor Ads can be blocked on the Apple TV YouTube app using iSponsorBlockTV on a home server”
“skips YouTube segments automatically”
“automatically skips segments in YouTube videos using the SponsorBlock API”
“It's a poor substitute for the Android TV version”
“I even have it setup on my home server so it skips sponsor segments on my Apple TV”
“it auto mutes and auto skips ads”
“Not as good as smarttube on nvidia shield, but best you can do on tvOS.”
“it auto-mutes ads, and auto-skips once the skip option is available”
“It auto-skips the sponsored segments and with Youtube premium, it gives me a clean, ad-free setup.”
“it looks like a helpful workaround for now”
“It's pretty good, I run this on my little server.”
“automatic muting doesn't work when HomePods are the default output”
“in addition to skipping sponsored segments, it also mutes YouTube’s own ads and auto-skips them as soon as it can”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.