IPL 18 sees 27% rise in advertisers, 141 new brands join line-up: TAM report

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen significant changes in television advertising trends, according to TAM Sports' latest report analysing the first 70 matches of the season. The findings reflect shifts in advertiser behaviour, category prominence and brand visibility compared to the corresponding stage of IPL 17. The analysis, focused solely on live match broadcasts and excluding pre-, mid- and post-match segments, covered matches aired across 28 channels this season,  an increase from 24 in IPL 17.

Growth in Advertisers and Brands

While the number of advertising categories remained consistent at more than 70, the total number of advertisers rose by 27.1%, from over 80 in IPL 17 to more than 105 in IPL 18. The number of brands grew by 27.8%, increasing from over 150 to more than 190.

Dominant categories

Mouth fresheners remained the top advertising category, accounting for 12.78% of total ad volumes in IPL 18, up from 11.46% in the previous season. Biscuits, absent from the top five in IPL 17, took second place with a 9.77% share.

E-commerce gaming dropped from 11.04% to 6.84%, moving to third place. Aerated soft drinks (5.89%) and corporate and financial institutions (5.34%) completed the top five for IPL 18.

By contrast, IPL 17’s top five also included range of food products (10.89%), perfumes and deodorants (6.22%), and air conditioners (4.28%).

Top Advertisers

Parle Biscuits topped the advertiser list with an 8.15% share, though down from 10.82% held by Parle Products in IPL 17. Vishnu Packaging (Vimal Elaichi) followed at 6.62%, slightly lower than last year’s 6.90%. Reliance Consumer Products (6.00%), Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com) at 3.94%, and K P Pan Foods (Rajshree and Kamla Pasand) at 3.80% rounded out the top five. Vini Product, with 4.99% in IPL 17, did not appear among the top advertisers this year.

Category Turnover

The analysis identified 27 new advertising categories in IPL 18. The leading new entrants included biscuits, properties and real estate, cellular phone services, clothing and fashion retail, and wafers/chips. Fourteen categories seen in IPL 17 did not return this season. These included range of food products, chocolates, branded salts, cement and toilet/floor cleaners.

Fresh brand and advertiser presence

A total of 141 new brands were introduced in IPL 18. The most prominent among them were Paper Boat Swing Coconut Water Drink, Amul Butter, Amul Lassi, Amul Ice Cream and Lattafa Perfumes. New advertisers included IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, Nuvoco Vistas Corp, L & T Finance, AMC Products (Energy Plus Biscuits), and Joy Hello Sun Sunblock Anti-Tan Lotion.

Brands absent this year despite featuring in IPL 17 included Vimal Elaichi, Parle Platina Hide & Seek, AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India), Campa Cola and Rapido Bike Taxi & Auto App.

The findings are based on Fast Count Television (FCT) data compiled by TAM Sports and cover only the live match segments from the first 70 games of IPL 18.