How to Put Announcements on a TV Screen (The Right Way, 2026)
Stop taping paper to the wall — put announcements, schedules, and updates on the TV you already own, updated from your phone in seconds. Three methods compared.
Every venue has announcements — new hours, this week's events, a staff shout-out, "card machine is down." The wall of taped paper works until it doesn't get read. Here's how to put announcements on a TV instead, from the duct-tape methods to the one that runs itself.
Three ways, honestly compared
1. USB stick + the TV's photo app (the duct-tape way)
Export announcement images, load them on a USB stick, use the TV's built-in slideshow. Works for a static set of slides. Fails the moment anything changes — every update means re-exporting, finding the stick, and walking to the TV. Most photo apps also sleep, show filenames, or reset order after power cuts.
2. Casting / HDMI from a laptop
Screen-mirror from a phone or park a laptop on HDMI. Fine for a one-off event. As a daily system it means a device held hostage by the TV, and the display dies when that device sleeps, updates, or leaves the building.
3. Signage software (the runs-itself way)
A small player (a Fire TV Stick — or even just a browser) plays a playlist you control from a web dashboard:
- Post an announcement from your phone; it's on screen in seconds
- Schedule it — the event promo runs this week and removes itself
- Mix announcements with your menu, promos, and photos in one rotation
- The screen recovers from power cuts by itself and shows you it's online
This is the whole category of "digital signage," and it starts at $10/screen/month with no special hardware. (What is digital signage?)
Making announcements people actually read
- One message per slide. Three announcements = three slides, 8–12 seconds each — not one crowded poster.
- Big text. Readable from across the room means headline sizes that look absurd in the editor. They're right.
- Give slides an expiry. Schedule the end date when you post — nothing rots trust in a board like April's event in June.
- Keep a rhythm. Announcements between menu/promo slides get seen more than an announcements-only loop people learn to ignore.
- Templates: a Canva template per announcement type (event / hours / shout-out) makes each new one a 2-minute job. (Canva → TV guide.)
The 10-minute setup
- Start a free PiAds trial — no card
- Pair the TV via the Fire TV app (or test instantly with the built-in web player)
- Upload your first announcement; the guided setup creates the playlist and schedule
- From then on: post from any device, it's live in seconds
And because it's PiAds: the same screen can carry approved ads from local businesses between your announcements — you keep 75% of every booking, which typically covers the software and then some.
FAQ
Can multiple people post announcements? Yes — invite your team; anyone with access can update from their own login.
Can different TVs show different announcements? Yes — each screen has its own playlists and schedule. Front-of-house and staff-room TVs can carry different messages.
What if the internet goes out? The player keeps showing cached content and re-syncs when the connection returns.
Do I need a new TV? No — any TV with HDMI, or a smart TV browser to start with zero hardware.
Retire the tape: put your first announcement on screen free — it takes about ten minutes.