NRL chief executive David Gallop vowed not to disrupt the very fabric of the game in a bid to squeeze more advertising opportunities into the broadcast of games.

Reacting to assertions from Nine Network boss David Gyngell that rugby league had to introduce more mandatory breaks if it was to maximise its commercial appeal, Gallop admitted NRL officials were investigating how to manipulate natural stoppages during the games.

With the NRL trying to match the $1.2 billion pocketed by the AFL in its recently-negotiated broadcasting deal, Gyngell claimed the AFL was more ad-friendly with regular breaks following each goal.

But while Gyngell claimed the time taken at scrums and line drop-outs could be extended to incorporate advertising space, Gallop said it was vital that it did not interfere with the game.

"We're being really careful to only look at breaks in play that don't affect the attrition and the fatigue factor of the game because that's an important element of rugby league," Gallop said.

"There are some options where we can extend the ability of the game to have ads actually in play.

"Those things have been looked at by the football departments of various clubs through the season structure committee, so I would expect we will see some of those things come in."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP