E-commerce media, entertainment, and social media emerged as the leading advertising category on Connected TV during IPL 2026, a new report by TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research, found. The analysis covered the first 22 matches held between March 28 and April 14, focusing on commercial ad volumes during live match broadcasts across Linear TV and Connected TV.
On Connected TV, the category accounted for 35 percent of total ad share. E-commerce services followed with 12 percent, while smartphones contributed 8 percent. Cars and air conditioners were also among the top five categories on the platform.
In contrast, Linear TV saw mouth fresheners as the top advertising category. Other leading segments included e-commerce services, e-wallets, corporate financial institutions, and paints.
Among advertisers, Star India, linked to JioHotstar, led Connected TV with a 35 percent share, followed by Google at 20 percent. On Linear TV, Google and Reliance Consumer Products featured among the top advertisers.
The findings also showed overlap between platforms, with more than 20 categories and advertisers common to both Connected TV and Linear TV. At the same time, each platform had over 15 exclusive categories and more than 20 exclusive advertisers.
Common categories included e-commerce media and entertainment, e-commerce services, mouth fresheners, cars, and paints. Categories such as smartphones, astrologers, and credit cards appeared only on Connected TV, while chocolates, jewellery, perfumes, and hair care products were exclusive to Linear TV.
Top common advertisers across both platforms included Star India, Google, Reliance Consumer Products, Havells India, and Vishnu Packaging.
On Connected TV, exclusive categories included smartphones, astrologers, fast food outlets, hotels, and credit cards. Linear TV, on the other hand, saw exclusive categories such as chocolates, branded jewellery, perfumes and deodorants, mortgage loans, and hair care products.
A similar split was visible among advertisers. Renault India, Tata Motors, Astrotalk Services, Jubilant FoodWorks, and Colgate Palmolive India featured as top exclusive advertisers on Connected TV. Meanwhile, K P Pan Foods, Skoda Auto, Cadburys India, Carat Lane Trading, and Navi Technologies appeared as leading exclusive advertisers on Linear TV.
The report noted that IPL 2026 matches were aired across 25 Linear TV channels and 12 language feeds on Connected TV.
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