ITV will show adverts during games in this year’s Six Nations, Daily Mail Sport understands.
The broadcaster, which kicks off its coverage tomorrow night with Ireland’s visit to holders France, will plug products twice in each half of the historic tournament in what is being viewed as a UK industry first.
The ads will show in breaks of play before scrums and will be in the form of a ‘picture in picture’ format, essentially a split screen.
Deals have been signed with Samsung and Virgin Atlantic and each will have an advert in both halves.
Samsung’s will be for their Galaxy Fold 27 mobile phone and will feature a group of fans watching live rugby together on their phone. It will ask ‘Can your phone make you feel this close?
Virgin’s will advertise the carrier’s routes across the world.
It remains to be seen how fans will react although insiders insist that they will miss none of the action.
The situation raises the prospect of a repeat at the summer’s World Cup. ITV insiders insisted they had no confirmed plans to do so. Any such move would need FIFA approval. However, games at the tournament will be stopped for water breaks which could provide an opportunity to cash in.
In play advertising may also be used during Champions League matches from the 2027-28 season.
Paramount, who will take over UK rights from TNT Sports, can use what are known as ‘L-frame’ ads – which show detail below and around the side of the main picture, twice per half and during pre-match, half-time and post-match content.
The broadcaster would be subject to restrictions and, in all likelihood, would only be permitted to show ads from existing Champions League sponsors. Ads would last for a maximum 10 seconds and would need to stop immediately should play restart.
Natural breaks in match action, such as injuries, would be used, while the first and last minutes of each half, along with stoppage time, extra-time and penalties, would be off-limits.
Voiceovers, unlike what viewers are about to see in the Six Nations, would not be allowed.
ITV is showing 10 matches from the Six Nations, including each England fixture. The BBC have picked up the rest, and will show three each of Scotland and Wales’s games.
A four-year deal, which splits coverage between the two broadcasters, was signed last year.
Mark Trinder, ITV director of commercial sales, said: ‘At ITV throughout 2026 we’re bringing the most exciting opportunities of the year to brands – live, free-to-air sport on a scale we’ve never seen before.
‘I’m delighted to welcome Samsung and Virgin Atlantic as our first partners for the new picture-in-picture offering, which is sure to be a high-attention format.’
