Issue with IMA SDK Ad Playback Blocking Click Events in Mini-Player (Android TV)

[Pavan Biradar]

Hello Google IMA SDK team,

I’m implementing a Single Ad Lifecycle Across Screens in our Android TV app and have run into a blocking issue during ad playback.

Requirement Overview:

• Start video (ad) in a mini-player on app launch.

• On click → expand to fullscreen and resume from the same position.

• On back press:

  • If ad not completed → return to mini-player and resume.

  • If ad completed in fullscreen → auto-return to home and start next video.

• Mini-player completion → automatically switch to next video.

• Only one ExoPlayer instance is shared between mini and fullscreen.

• First ad plays in mini-player.

• When completed → second ad starts from beginning in mini-player.

• On click → fullscreen opens and resumes from same position.

• On back press → returns to mini-player and continues.

• No playback overlap.

• Always show next video from beginning after the current one completes.

Problem Description:
When content is playing in the mini-player, clicking or pressing Enter correctly triggers my event listeners, saves the playback position, and opens fullscreen playback. This works as expected.

However, when an ad is playing in the mini-player, clicking or pressing Enter does nothing. After investigation, I found that:

• During ad playback, the IMA SDK internally manages the player UI and uses an overlay view (possibly a SurfaceView or WebView) for rendering.

• This overlay intercepts all input events, meaning my setOnClickListener() or setOnKeyListener() callbacks never get triggered.

• As a result, users cannot enter fullscreen mode while an ad is playing.

Impact:

• The user experience breaks because they are “stuck” in the mini-player during ad playback.

• This is especially problematic for long ads where users expect to switch to fullscreen at any point.

Request for Guidance:

• Is there an official way to detect and handle clicks or key events during IMA ad playback in a shared ExoPlayer instance scenario?

• Can we attach custom event listeners directly to the ad overlay, or is there a recommended method to bypass this limitation?

• Is there a flag or API to prevent the ad UI from consuming all input events?

Any suggestions, best practices, or sample implementations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Pavan Biradar

[IMA SDK]

Hi,

We are checking your issue and will get back to you shortly. Meanwhile, your patience is important.

Thanks,
 

IMA SDK Team

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[2025-08-14 18:43:11Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01sz6Cm:ref" (ADR-00329954)

[IMA SDK]

Hi,
Thank you for reaching out to the IMA SDK Support team.

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IMA SDK Team

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[2025-08-26 16:42:34Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01sz6Cm:ref" (ADR-00329954)