Mumbai: The opening phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has recorded a 10% increase in television advertising volumes compared to the same four-match period last season, according to a report by TAM Sports.
Despite the growth in ad volumes, the advertising landscape has become more concentrated, with a 15% decline in category mix and a 26% drop in the number of advertisers, indicating a shift towards high-intensity advertising by fewer players.
Among categories, E-commerce services and mouth fresheners jointly led with a 14% share each of total ad volumes, followed by air conditioners and corporate financial institutions at 6% each, and paints at 5%.
On the advertiser front, Google emerged as the top advertiser, accounting for 13% of ad volumes during the first four matches. It was followed by Reliance Consumer Products (7%), Havells India (6%), Vishnu Packaging (6%), and K P Pan Foods (5%).
Collectively, the top five categories contributed 44% of total ad volumes, while the top five advertisers accounted for 36%, underscoring the dominance of key sectors and brands in the early phase of the tournament.
The report also highlighted evolving category dynamics, with nine new categories and 45 new brands entering the IPL advertising ecosystem compared to the same period last year. Leading new entrants included Google Search Engine and Google Gemini, reflecting the increasing presence of digital and tech-driven brands.
At the same time, several categories such as e-commerce gaming, smartphones, biscuits, airlines, and fans, which were present last season, did not feature in the top categories this year, pointing to shifting advertiser priorities.
Notably, mouth fresheners remained the only category to feature among the top five in both IPL 2025 and IPL 2026, while the current season saw a more diversified category representation compared to last year, when food and beverage segments had a stronger presence.
Overall, the findings indicate that while IPL continues to attract strong advertising interest, the ecosystem is becoming more selective and competitive, with fewer but more dominant advertisers driving higher ad intensity in the early matches of the tournament.
