IPL 18 attracts 105+ advertisers and 190+ brands despite flat ad volume growth: TAM

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 18 continued to attract advertiser interest, with the first 70 matches (from March 22 to May 27, 2025) recording a modest 0.4% increase in TV ad volumes compared to IPL 17.

TAM Sports’ latest report highlights key trends—ranging from ad volume growth to changes in the number of categories, advertisers, and brands.

The small rise indicates that while advertiser interest in IPL remains strong, growth is beginning to level off as the tournament matures and competition increases.

Compared with IPL 17, IPL 18 saw an expansion in both the number of advertisers and the roster of brands across television.

Categories: The number of product and service categories remained stable at 70 + in both seasons, indicating that existing categories continue to find relevance in the cricket-viewing audience’s interests.

Advertisers: There was a jump from 80 + advertisers in IPL 17 to 105 + advertisers in IPL 18, representing an approximate 27% increase. This surge reflects heightened interest among corporations and a broader array of companies seeking to associate with the franchise-based tournament.

Brands: Brands increased from 150 + in IPL 17 to 190 + in IPL 18, a roughly 28% rise. The influx of new brands underscores the opening for niche players—ranging from fintech to fashion—to leverage the IPL’s mass reach.

Top Categories: Shifts in share and rank
Analysis of category-wise share of total ad volumes reveals notable shifts at the top of the leaderboard.

• IPL 18’s top five categories (Rank – % Share)
  

1. Mouth Freshener – 13%
   

2. Biscuits – 10%
   

3. E‐commerce / Gaming – 7%
   

4. Aerated Soft Drinks – 6%
   

5. Corporate/Financial Institutions – 5%
   

• IPL 17’s top five categories (Rank – % Share)
  

1. Mouth Freshener – 11%
   

2. E‐commerce / Gaming – 11%
   

3. Range of Food Products – 11%
   

4. Perfumes / Deodorants – 6%
   

5. Air Conditioners – 4%
   

The landscape of brands executing high‐volume ad buys also shifted meaningfully between the two seasons. All shares below are expressed as a percentage of total television ad volumes.

• Top five advertisers in IPL 18 (Rank – Advertiser – % Share)
  

1. Parle Biscuits – 8%
   

2. Vishnu Packaging (Vimal Elaichi) – 7%
   

3. Reliance Consumer Products – 6%
   

4. Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com) – 4%
   

5. K P Pan Foods (Rajshree Silver Coated Elaichi & Kamla Pasand Silver Coated Elaichi) – 4%
   

• Top five advertisers in IPL 17 (Rank – Advertiser – % Share)
  

1. Parle Products – 11%
   

2. Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com) – 7%
   

3. Vishnu Packaging (Vimal Elaichi) – 7%
   

4. Vini Product – 5%
   

5. K P Pan Foods (Kamla Pasand Silver Coated Elaichi & Rajshree Silver Coated Elaichi) – 4%
   

IPL 18’s opening 70 matches introduced a wave of fresh advertisers, while some categories that were active in IPL 17 fell off the radar.

• New categories entering IPL 18 (present in IPL 18 but absent in IPL 17; total count = 27):
  

1. Biscuits
   

2. Properties / Real Estate
   

3. Cellular Phone Service
   

4. Retail Outlets – Clothing / Textiles / Fashion
   

5. Wafer / Chips
   

6. … (22 additional categories not individually listed)
   

New Brands Debuting in IPL 18 (total count = 141):

1. Parle Platina Hide & Seek
   

2. Rapido Bike Taxi & Auto App
   

3. Parle Happy Happy
   

4. Rajshree Silver Coated Elaichi
   

5. PhonePe

Among the 141 brands making their IPL debut, fintech and mobility applications (e.g., PhonePe, Rapido) stand out—illustrating how digital‐native businesses are willing to allocate substantial budgets to capture the IPL’s digitally engaged audience. Parle further reinforced its multi-brand approach, adding “Parle Platina Hide & Seek” and “Parle Happy Happy” to the IPL portfolio.