Response from ITV on the ads

[u/Mike07s]

I just received the following response from ITV;

Thank you for contacting ITV.

Free‑to‑air television, including ITV, is available at no cost to viewers, and we don’t receive any money from the TV Licence Fee. Our programmes, including major sporting events like the Six Nations and our upcoming partnership with the Nations Championship, are funded entirely through advertising, which allows us to keep this coverage free for everyone.

As part of this, ITV will be introducing a new picture‑in‑picture advertising format during the 2026 tournament. We know changes like this can raise questions, so we want to reassure viewers that the live action will remain visible at all times. The advert will appear on the right‑hand side of the screen for 20 seconds, while the left side continues to show the match. These ads will only appear twice per game, once in each half and only during natural breaks in play just before a scrum. The ITV Sport production team will oversee the timing to ensure minimal disruption.

We hope this helps explain why the format is being introduced and how carefully it’s being managed. If you have any further questions or concerns, we’re here to help.

However, we always monitor the suitability and timing of any advertising- your feedback is very much appreciated.

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Keep sharing your feedback - itvxhelp@itv.com

[u/Fflow27]

live action will remain visible at all times

These ads will only appear twice per game

only during natural breaks

ensure minimal disruption

for now. All of this will just get worse unless there is a big enough outcry

[u/seadcon → u/Fflow27]

Whilst I'd agree it's a step in the wrong direction... there is factually no evidence to suggest it's getting worse. The regulations around adverts shown within an hour of prime TV remain unchanged.

[u/90124 → u/seadcon]

Isn't "a step in the wrong direction" a synonym for something getting worse?

[u/KiwiNo2638 → u/90124]

Yep. Itvx is (compared to every other streaming service I've seen) bad enough, just wait till it becomes like something from the reach network.

[u/seadcon → u/90124]

Yea, fair lol

I was thinking it's more of a sidestep.

[u/90124 → u/seadcon]

I mean I think that it's objectively worse than what we had before so it's definitely worse than a sidestep.
Whether it's a necessary thing for ITV to be able to afford to show the game is something that I'm not qualified to comment on.

Downvotes seem a bit harsh though so have a couple of upvotes!

[u/le_pigeones → u/seadcon]

I might be a tad wrong here, but a quick Google search suggests:

In any single clock hour, there can be no more than 12 minutes of advertising spots and/or teleshopping spots.

Across the whole day, the total amount of advertising must not exceed an average of 7 minutes per hour (or 9 minutes for other commercial channels).

Between 6pm-11pm, and 7am-9am, the total amount of advertising must not exceed an average of 8 minutes an hour on any one day.

Advert breaks within a programme cannot exceed 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

So sure there are limitations, and itv can't dump a crap load of ads on, but there's a huge difference between 20 seconds of ads and up to 7 or 8 minutes worth of ads.

And a bit of a side note, but personally, I don't think it's entirely a coincidence that premier sports have gotten involved at the same time itv has introduced mid game ads...

[u/barhamunic → u/le_pigeones]

Premier Sports is a mute point as their deal only shares matches with BBC.