Ananya Panday tops celebrity endorsements in IPL 2025; 61% of ads feature stars

New Delhi: The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw a modest 2% rise in ad volumes featuring celebrities, with film actor Ananya Panday emerging as the most visible face on television during the first 37 matches, according to the latest TAM Sports report on celebrity endorsements this IPL season.

Celebrity-endorsed advertisements continued to dominate live match broadcasts, accounting for 61% of total ad volumes, unchanged from IPL 17. However, within that share, film actors led the charge with a 41% slice, followed closely by sports personalities at 35%, and the rest by actresses. 

Ananya Panday secured a 9% share of all celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, outpacing names like Shah Rukh Khan (7%) and MS Dhoni (5%). In contrast, Shah Rukh Khan held the top spot during IPL 17 with a 12% share, making him the only celebrity to appear in the top five endorsers across both seasons.

Among sportspersons, MS Dhoni was the most prominent during IPL 18, commanding 15.1% of ad volumes within his category. Other athletes in the top five included Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, and Ruturaj Gaikwad—all of whom were new entrants compared to IPL 17, indicating a shift in advertiser preferences.

Despite a slight dip in the overall number of celebrity endorsers and sports personalities this season, their exposure levels on television increased, highlighting a concentrated bet by advertisers on fewer but more impactful ambassadors.

Two of the top five celebrity-endorsed ad categories belonged to the F&B segment—Biscuits and Pan Masala. Other key sectors included E-commerce (Gaming), Paints, and Face wash 

This IPL season, 61% of IPL ads are endorsed by celebrities, according to the report. 

Compared to IPL 17, IPL 18 witnessed a decline in the overall number of celebrity endorsers and also in the count of sports celebrities.

Brands such as Sporta Technologies (Dream11), Playgames24x7, Parle Biscuits, Vishnu Packaging, and KP Pan Foods led the celebrity-backed advertising spree, collectively contributing to over 60% of the ad volumes in this segment.

The TAM Sports study, which excluded promos and franchise ads, analysed live match broadcasts on 25 Star Network channels.