ITV’s introduction of in-game ads during the Six Nations received backlash from rugby fans, emphasising the need for careful testing when it comes to advertising in live sport. “With the right design, in-game advertising can enhance rather than disrupt the broadcast,” argues James Grant, SVP Advanced Television at Equativ.
Live sport is one of the most powerful environments in media. Few forms of content can match its intensity and emotion – the tension of a last-minute penalty, the roar of a stadium crowd, or the collective anticipation of watching a decisive moment unfold. For advertisers, that emotion makes live sports an obvious and highly valuable target.
At the same time, the ad tech landscape is evolving rapidly, and advances in automation, programmatic advertising and AI are opening the door to increasingly sophisticated ad formats that can appear within those live moments. From pause-screen placements to dynamic in-game overlays, the possibilities for engaging audiences are expanding quickly.
But introducing new ad formats into live sports is not without risk. Fans are deeply protective of the viewing experience, and when advertising disrupts key moments, backlash can be swift and public. Recent criticism of in-game adverts during the Six Nations illustrates how quickly sentiment can turn if formats feel intrusive.
For broadcasters, platforms and advertisers alike, there are lessons to be learned. Innovation in live sports advertising requires careful testing, thoughtful deployment and a willingness to learn from audience feedback. Practice, for both advertisers and athletes, really does make perfect.
Test the format before the first whistle
New advertising formats can often be divisive at first. What seems like a creative breakthrough in theory can get unexpected audience reactions when placed in the middle of a live sporting moment.
As we saw with the reaction to the Six Nations in-screen advertising this year, it can be a bold move to launch a new format at such an internationally important competition. When gameplay paused briefly for scrums, the reaction in pubs and living rooms across the country was as though they had just witnessed England falter in Rome for the first time in 33 contests… before it actually happened.
Launching at a major sporting event therefore carries significant risk. High-profile tournaments such as the Six Nations, the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup bring enormous audiences – and with them heightened scrutiny. If an ad disrupts the sporting experience, even briefly, the resulting public reaction can overshadow the innovation itself, and potentially damage the brand.
Another strategy is to test formats in lower-profile environments first. Smaller competitions, regional tournaments or niche sporting events provide valuable opportunities to experiment without the pressure of a global audience. In some cases, offering advertisers free or heavily discounted placements can encourage participation while helping broadcasters gather insights and feedback.
These environments also provide access to some of the most dedicated fans. Die-hard supporters are often the hardest audience to convince, but their reactions can provide the most honest insight into whether a format works. And thanks to the high-quality data derived from CTV viewing, it’s easier than ever to assess the impact of individual campaigns in real-time.
Gradual introductions also help audiences acclimatise to the more experimental approaches to advertising. Concepts such as pause-screen ads or subtle in-game overlays may feel unfamiliar at first, but repeated exposure in smaller settings may allow viewers to adapt before they encounter new formats during major sporting moments.
Looking to the wider world
It is worth noting that in-game advertising is far from new in many parts of the world. Streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and DAZN, as well as numerous US sports broadcasters, have been experimenting with these formats for years. Meanwhile in Germany, the same in-screen advertising formats that ITV deployed are frequently used, most recently during the Winter Olympics coverage on Eurosport.
The newness of these formats in the UK market may explain some of the recent backlash. Audiences accustomed to uninterrupted live coverage are naturally sensitive to changes in how advertising appears during broadcasts.
However, the broader trend is unlikely to roll back. As sports rights costs continue to rise and viewing habits evolve, broadcasters will increasingly look to innovative formats to generate revenue while maintaining accessible content.
One of the key criticisms raised during recent UK trials was that certain in-game ads muted the sound of the stadium, removing the ambient crowd noise that gives live sport that immersive feeling. For many viewers, that atmosphere is a crucial part of the experience.
But this is precisely where iterative testing can make a difference. Rather than silencing the stadium, future formats might integrate crowd noise into the ad experience, or use the live environment as a contextual cue for messaging. With the right design, in-game advertising can enhance rather than disrupt the broadcast.
If maintaining free-to-air sports coverage remains a priority for UK public service broadcasters, then evolving ad formats will almost certainly play a role in sustaining the business model.
Infrastructure for innovation
But developing in-screen advertising is not only about audience perception. Behind the scenes, the tech infrastructure that supports these formats must be thoroughly tested.
Live sports broadcasts represent one of the most demanding environments in digital media. Millions of viewers will be watching simultaneously, and any ads must load instantly and flawlessly during high-pressure moments. Disruption during an England World Cup Final penalty would be seen as treason.
That means every component in the programmatic ecosystem – from ad servers to SSPs and DSPs – must be rigorously stress-tested. Even small weaknesses in the system can become a problem when big ticket items are being streamed.
At Equativ, for example, we are currently working through a testing process with DSP partners such as StackAdapt, to ensure new formats perform reliably under these conditions. Much of this work takes place in controlled, non-live environments where systems can be pushed to their limits without affecting real broadcasts; QPS thresholds, auction dynamics, creative approvals, creative transcoding for different screen sizes etc. All must be tested to ensure the two partners are working closely on the exchange of information and assets, to execute the right ad, at the right time, within 100 milliseconds.
Live sport also offers a huge amount of real-time signals which can be incorporated into advertising strategy. Game context, scoring and social media engagement can all be used to tweak creative or deploy different versions of ads to ensure they land with the most impact. But this can only be done with robust infrastructure that can compute and process the vast signals in real-time.
These behind-the-scenes trials are critical. Without them, technical failures could occur at precisely the wrong moment – leaving broadcasters, platforms and brands open to criticism.
Fan-centric advertising
The future of live sports advertising will undoubtedly involve dynamic ad placement and more seamless integrations. As technology advances, the opportunities for brands to engage audiences in meaningful ways can only continue to grow.
But the fundamental principle should remain unchanged – the fans come first.
By testing formats carefully, learning from global markets, and ensuring technical infrastructure is robust, the industry can introduce innovation without risking the magic of live sport. Whether your approach is to test iteratively on smaller broadcasts, or launch straight away in high-profile games, we should all applaud ITV for being bold and transparent with its intentions and spearheading a new format initiative that will surely be rolled out by multiple broadcasters and streamers in the coming years.
After all, we know in sport that practice makes perfect, but perhaps it is a mantra we should adopt more in our advertising world too.
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