ITV to avoid World Cup ‘drinks break’ adverts despite FIFA opening mid-game slots

British commercial broadcaster ITV has decided against showing advertisements during the World Cup’s mandatory mid-half hydration breaks, stepping back from an in-play format it recently tested in rugby and that FIFA has been briefing broadcasters on ahead of the expanded 2026 tournament.FIFA is introducing three-minute hydration stoppages in every match, scheduled around the 22-minute mark of each half, as part of a player welfare package for a competition spanning the US, Canada and Mexico.Broadcasters have been told they can use part of that window for advertising if they cut away from live action, creating a new monetisable break in football’s traditional continuous broadcast model.ITV, which shares UK live rights with the BBC, had been widely expected to weigh up the opportunity after deploying “picture-in-picture” advertising during the Six Nations, an approach that kept match commentary running while a small advert played alongside the live feed.Reports suggest that ITV has concluded there is limited upside in adopting the same model for the World Cup given a combination of UK advertising regulation and FIFA’s constraints on what can be shown.Ofcom’s rules cap the amount of advertising allowed per hour on commercial television, meaning any extra minutes used during a drinks break would have to be taken from other parts of ITV’s schedule or from other ad breaks around the match.FIFA has also set conditions around in-match advertising during hydration stoppages, including tight timing windows designed to protect the broadcast and stadium experience.The governing body’s guidance includes restrictions on when commercials can start and when coverage must return to live pictures before play resumes, reducing the usable length of any break.FIFA’s approach also differentiates between full-screen ad breaks and split-screen formats, with the latter typically limited to the tournament’s official commercial partners, a structure that can complicate sales planning for broadcasters seeking to package inventory across categories.The decision puts ITV’s World Cup coverage on a more conventional footing, concentrating its ad value on the established high-audience moments that surround live matches.It also avoids a potential viewer backlash in a tournament where consumer tolerance for additional stoppages and commercial interruption is likely to be tested, particularly in the UK market where the BBC’s concurrent coverage offers an ad-free alternative.For FIFA, the hydration breaks remain a meaningful piece of broadcast inventory at a tournament scale of 104 matches, even if adoption varies by market depending on local regulation and broadcaster strategy.