Celebrity endorsements decline during IPL 18, film actors continue to lead

New Delhi: TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research, has reported a 13% drop in the volume of celebrity-endorsed advertisements during the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025), when compared with the previous season. This indicates a shift towards more varied advertising strategies, with an increased share of non-celebrity ads during live match broadcasts.

According to the report, celebrity-endorsed ads accounted for 53% of total ad volume in IPL 18, down from 59% in IPL 17. The remaining 47% comprised non-celebrity-driven campaigns. The findings are based solely on commercial ads aired during live match coverage, excluding pre-, mid- and post-match segments.

Film actors continued to dominate endorsements, contributing 50% of the celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, while sportspersons accounted for 32%. Despite the decline in sports celebrity engagement compared to the previous season, the combined share of film and sports personalities still made up over 80% of the total volume.

Shahrukh Khan retained his position as the most prominent celebrity endorser for the second consecutive year, accounting for 8% of ad volumes during IPL 18, although this was lower than the 13% share he held in IPL 17. M S Dhoni was the only sportsperson to feature among the top five endorsers in both seasons.

The number of celebrities featured in endorsements also decreased. IPL 18 featured over 60 celebrity endorsers, compared to more than 75 in IPL 17. Similarly, the number of sports celebrity endorsements dropped from over 35 in the previous edition to just above 15 in 2025.

Among categories endorsed by celebrities during IPL 18, two out of the top five fell within the food and beverage sector. E-commerce gaming, pan masala, biscuits, financial services, and paints were identified as the top product categories.

On the advertiser side, five brands Sporta Technologies, Parle Biscuits, Vishnu Packaging, PlayGames24x7, and RSH Global accounted for over half of all celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. Sporta Technologies, which owns fantasy sports platform Dream11, continued to be a significant player in leveraging celebrity appeal during the tournament.

TAM Sports’ report is based on ad secondages (time duration) for commercial ads only and excludes promotional content, fillers, trailers, and official broadcaster ads. The analysis covers 100% of live match airtime across 25 Star Network channels during IPL 18.