Ad buying goes cross‑screen
- TAM data shows e-commerce brands led Connected TV ads across the first 22 live IPL matches, with mouth fresheners leading linear TV. - The dataset covers matches from March 28 to April 14 and highlights clear platform-specific category leaders. - Advertisers are increasingly planning IPL as a unified cross-screen event, with 20+ shared advertisers buying both CTV and linear TV inventories. ( )
IPL ad buying is splitting by screen: e-commerce brands led Connected TV in the first 22 live matches, while mouth fresheners led linear television. (afaqs.com) The TAM Sports dataset covers matches played from March 28 to April 14, 2026, and tracks ad activity separately on Connected TV and linear TV. Storyboard18 reported that more than 20 advertisers and more than 20 categories appeared on both platforms during that stretch. (storyboard18.com) On Connected TV, Star India, which operates JioHotstar’s IPL stream, led the advertiser rankings, and e-commerce media accounted for 35% of ad share, according to coverage of the TAM data. On linear TV, Google topped advertiser rankings, while mouth fresheners remained the biggest category. (storyboard18.com, (manifest-media.in)) The split shows how advertisers are using different screens for different jobs. Connected TV is drawing digital-first, platform-led spending, while linear TV is still carrying fast-moving consumer goods and other mass-market categories. (afaqs.com, (manifest-media.in)) That pattern has been building through the 2026 season. BusinessLine reported before the tournament opened that IPL ad rates were up 25% to 30% from 2025, with much of the increase driven by Smart TV and Connected TV inventory. (thehindubusinessline.com) Industry reporting earlier in April also showed that IPL television advertising had become more concentrated. TAM AdEx data for the opening phase showed TV ad volumes up 10% year over year, even as the number of categories fell 15% and the number of advertisers fell 26%. (afaqs.com) By the first 22 matches, the overlap between screens had become harder to miss. Adgully said Google, Havells India and Reliance Consumer Products were among the prominent names buying both Connected TV and linear TV inventory. (adgully.com) The IPL schedule itself has expanded the opportunity. The 2026 tournament runs from late March into May, and industry guides describe this season as an 84-match event with unified media planning across TV and streaming becoming easier for buyers. (themediaant.com, (iplt20.com)) The result is not a handoff from television to streaming so much as a coordinated buy across both. In the first 22 matches, the leaders changed by platform, but the advertiser list increasingly did not. (adgully.com, (storyboard18.com))
