Mid-match adverts throughout ITV’s rugby protection was a sizzling subject of debate however transient annoyance is value it if it means video games being proven on free-to-air TV moderately than Sky or TNT

It was a new sight on television screens across the country on the opening night of the Six Nations.

As the clock ticked towards the end of the opening quarter at the Stade de France and the packs of France and Ireland prepared to scrum down, all of a sudden, the screen split in two.

Instead of in-depth analysis on the set-piece, the ITV audience was shown an advert for electronics giant Samsung.

The new in-game promotions had been well trailed. Pre-match, ITV presenter Jill Douglas had warned viewers they were coming, insisting fans wouldn’t miss any of the action. And in the days ahead of the game, news stories revealing the plan created a mountain of column inches and online and social media debate.

Almost as soon as we were urged to buy Samsung’s latest mobile device, my phone blew up with messages from a WhatsApp group containing my school friends, who are big rugby fans.

It seemed not everyone had been reading the newspapers and website articles.

ITV broadcast adverts during the Six Nations opener between France and Ireland on Thursday

‘What’s with the mid-game adverts?’ a friend asked, starting off the conversation. The responses came thick and fast. Some were unsurprisingly negative. But, interestingly, others were accepting.

‘A joke. Welcome to American sports.’

‘Not a fan.’

‘Get on board now. It’s going to get worse.’

Ahead of the start of the 2026 Championship, the news of ITV’s advert plan had arguably gathered far more column inches than the games themselves.

It was a hot topic for fans. After posting about the news on my X account on Wednesday, my mentions were inundated with supporter views anxious about rugby selling its soul.

The reality of this new venture was, in this writer’s opinion, nowhere near as bad as many had feared. Would I rather have heard the views of Miles Harrison, Ben Kay and Benjamin Kayser on what to expect in the upcoming scrum? Yes. Absolutely.

The broadcasting trio were suddenly silenced as Samsung overtook our screens.

Presenter Jill Douglas had warned fans that the adverts were coming, but assured them they would not miss any of the action

It wasn’t the most subtle of takeovers. But at the same time, neither was it hugely offensive and it certainly wasn’t anywhere near the sort of brash, in-your-face advertising you see connected with sports such as the NFL and NBA.

Soon enough, the rugby was back. As Douglas had promised, you didn’t miss a sausage.

It was certainly nowhere near as bad as my previous experience of watching rugby with adverts. In 2017, I was covering a Wales Test in Apia, the capital of Samoa. I watched the British & Irish Lions’ first Test with New Zealand that year in a bar in the Pacific Island.

On the verge of the break, as Lions full-back Liam Williams famously sidestepped All Blacks No 8 Kieran Read and almost sent him into the Eden Park stands, the pictures cut to an advert.

By the time the match action returned to the screen, I had totally missed the sensational length-of-the-field score created by Williams and scored by Sean O’Brien. Now, that was unacceptable.

ITV’s offering was nowhere near that bad and as France ran riot in the opening half in Paris to lead 22-0 at half time, the irony was that many Ireland fans would probably have been crying out for another advert.

And who knows, maybe it was more enjoyable for them to buy a new mobile phone than watch Antoine Dupont, Matthieu Jalibert and Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Co cut loose.

The majority of fans who have criticised ITV bringing in adverts would also have complained if the Six Nations had been lost to free-to-air television and screened instead by the likes of TNT Sports, Sky Sports or Premier Sports. That, for sure, would be justifiable of criticism.

Then minor inconvenience is worth it – rugby needs the money, but this ensures the competition remains on free-to-air TV

The Six Nations must remain as open as possible and the current split broadcast deal in the UK between both BBC and ITV ensures that to be the case.

As a public-funded broadcaster, there won’t of course be any adverts on BBC matches. So, if two adverts per game on only ITV broadcasts is the price to be paid for maximising the audiences of northern hemisphere rugby’s greatest tournament, then I believe it to be one worth paying. God knows rugby needs the money big broadcasters bring.

And without advertising, those deals – such as the £90million contract between ITV and the Six Nations for the new Nations Championship – simply wouldn’t happen. The alternative would only hurt the game and rugby’s true fans more.

And anyway, what’s that? I’m just off to buy a new Samsung mobile phone. Maybe it’s one that after seeing the second-half advert that I’ll take on my soon-to-be-upcoming Virgin Atlantic holiday.