Mumbai: Hansa Research Group, through its IPLomania study tracking audience behaviour during the first six weeks of IPL 2026, has revealed significant shifts in viewership patterns, fan engagement, sponsorship visibility, and content consumption trends, highlighting the IPL’s rapid evolution into a multi-platform entertainment ecosystem.
According to the study, IPL engagement levels remain exceptionally high among core fans, with audiences increasingly treating the tournament as a daily entertainment habit rather than an occasional sporting event. Over 41.18% of viewers reported watching more than seven IPL matches every week, while another 29.78% watched between six and seven matches weekly. On average, IPL viewers consumed 6.12 matches per week during the tournament period, reflecting sustained engagement across the season.
The report also points to a decisive shift in consumption behaviour towards digital-first and multi-platform viewing. Nearly 70% of viewers now consume IPL content across both television and OTT platforms, making dual-screen viewing the dominant mode of tournament consumption in 2026.
While only 18.98% of viewers now watch IPL exclusively on television, 38.26% primarily consume the tournament on TV while simultaneously engaging through OTT platforms. Another 31.16% mainly consume IPL through OTT while continuing partial television viewing. According to Hansa Research’s IPLomania trends, exclusive linear TV viewership has dropped from nearly 27% in earlier seasons to 18.98% in IPL 2026, indicating a strong migration toward connected TVs, mobile streaming, and digital-first viewing habits.
The study further highlights the growing importance of short-format and catch-up content beyond live broadcasts. Around 13.64% of viewers actively consume IPL through social media highlights and reels, while another 8.40% engage with match highlights on YouTube.
Among engagement-led content formats, “Super Sixes” emerged as the most consumed category at 36.33%, followed by “Moment of the Day” at 33.66%, “Fall of Wicket” clips at 32.99%, “Winning Moments” at 32.14%, and “Action Replay” content at 28.38%.
On the advertising front, CEAT emerged as the most recalled brand during IPL 2026 with a recall score of 59.61, followed by RuPay at 56.45, Amul at 54.99, and TATA AIG at 54.00. Other highly recalled brands included Groww, Rajshree Pan Masala, Mutual Fund Sahi Hai, Asian Paints, Google Gemini, and Angel One.
The IPLomania study also evaluated sponsorship visibility across broadcast assets. Player jerseys emerged as the strongest branding property, with 55.06% of viewers recalling brands displayed on jerseys. This was followed by on-ground and pitch branding at 49.48%, boundary rope branding at 47.36%, commentator and presentation backdrops at 44.75%, helmet branding at 40.27%, player pants branding at 38.20%, and perimeter LCD branding at 36.45%.
The findings also captured a notable shift in team fandom during IPL 2026. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) emerged as the most supported franchise this season with a 20.25% support share, overtaking Chennai Super Kings at 19.35% and Mumbai Indians at 17.83%, both of which recorded declines compared to the previous season. Rajasthan Royals also saw notable growth in fan support, increasing from 5% in 2025 to 7.28% in 2026.
Among emerging cricketers, Vaibhav Suryavanshi emerged as the biggest breakout player of IPL 2026 with 18.56% audience preference, significantly ahead of other young players tracked in the study. Ayush Mhatre followed at 5.09%, while Noor Ahmad, Priyansh Arya, Sameer Rizvi, Jacob Bethell, and Tristan Stubbs also featured among the key emerging names attracting audience attention this season.
Commenting on the findings, Pramod Pawar, Quantitative Research – Vice President, Hansa Research Group said, “The way audiences are interacting with IPL is becoming far more fragmented and continuous than before. Fans today are not just following full matches, but are actively engaging with key moments, highlights, replays, and cricket conversations throughout the day across multiple platforms. This evolution is creating a far more dynamic engagement environment for broadcasters, teams, sponsors, and digital platforms, where audience attention is increasingly distributed across formats, screens, and content moments rather than concentrated only around live television viewing.”
