Think about this alongside the network layering models (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). A pi-hole operat

Think about this alongside the network layering models (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). A pi-hole operates (usually) by intercepting DNS requests and returning bogus results if the request is for a known ad host. That's an application layer activity; other requests for non-ad (or unknown ad) hosts would succeed. So a pi-hole blocks some application layer activity but not all. MAC addresses are a link layer concept, and a router is a network layer device. Having a MAC address blocked at a router would prevent that MAC address from using the router's function, which in this context means that the device holding that MAC address (the tv) would be unable to send and receive data through the router at all; the TV would be unable to access any site on the internet, ad-related or not. Depending on what other devices you have on your local network which you might want to use with your TV, it might be easier to just not plug the TV into the network at all.