Mumbai: Connected TV (CTV) advertising emerged as a key growth driver during the first 43 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with categories such as e-commerce services, automobiles and smartphones leading ad volumes, according to the latest TAM Sports report analysing commercial advertising trends across Linear TV and CTV.
The report, which tracked advertising activity between March 28 and May 1, 2026, covered 25 channels on Linear TV and 12 language feeds on CTV. It excluded promos, fillers and short programmes, focusing only on live match commercial advertising.
Among categories, Ecom-Other Services led advertising on CTV with an 11% share, followed by Cars and Cellular Phones-Smart Phones at 5% each, while Air Conditioners and Paints accounted for 4% each. On Linear TV, Mouth Fresheners emerged as the top category with a 14% share, followed by Ecom-Other Services at 13%, Corporate-Financial Institutions at 6%, and Paints and Energy Drinks at 5% each.
The report highlighted that Ecom-Other Services and Paints were the only common categories among the top five across both CTV and Linear TV, indicating a divergence in advertiser preferences between the two platforms.
Google emerged as the leading advertiser across both platforms during the first 43 IPL matches. On CTV, Google accounted for 15% of ad share, followed by Havells India at 5%, while Reliance Consumer Products, Grasim Industries and Amazon Online India held 3% each. On Linear TV, Google topped the list with an 11% share, followed by Reliance Consumer Products at 10%, Havells India at 7%, Vishnu Packaging at 6%, and K P Pan Foods at 5%.
The report further revealed that Google, Havells India and Reliance Consumer Products were common advertisers across both platforms’ top five lists.
TAM Sports data also showed increasing diversity in advertiser participation on CTV. During the first 43 matches, the platform recorded 25 exclusive categories and over 35 exclusive advertisers, compared to more than 15 exclusive categories and 25-plus exclusive advertisers on Linear TV.
Among exclusive CTV categories, Credit Cards, Astrologers, Fast Food Outlets, Hotels and Corporate-FMCG featured prominently. Renault India, Tata Motors, Voltas, Astrotalk Services and Jubilant FoodWorks were the top exclusive advertisers on CTV.
On Linear TV, exclusive categories included Chocolates, Branded Jewellery, Perfumes/Deodorants, Mortgage Loans and Artificial Sweeteners. The leading exclusive advertisers on Linear TV included K P Pan Foods, Skoda Auto, OpenAI, Cadburys India and GCMMF (Amul).
The report also identified 35 common advertising categories and 30 common advertisers across both CTV and Linear TV, underlining the growing convergence of brand strategies across television platforms while maintaining platform-specific targeting approaches.
According to the findings, the stronger presence of exclusive categories and advertisers on CTV points to the platform’s expanding appeal among brands seeking differentiated audience engagement during marquee sporting events like the IPL.
