Celebrity endorsements occupied a larger share of advertising during IPL 2026, with branded commercials featuring public personalities registering a notable increase over the previous season, according to a TAM Sports study of live match broadcasts.
The analysis found that celebrity-endorsed advertisements accounted for 61% of ad volumes during IPL 2026, compared with 53% in IPL 2025. On an indexed basis, celebrity-led ad volumes grew 34% year-on-year. Non-celebrity advertisements made up the remaining 39% share during IPL 2026.
Film industry leads endorsement landscape
Film personalities retained a dominant position in television advertising during the tournament. Film actors contributed 55% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, while film actresses accounted for another 22%.
Sports personalities held a 22% share of celebrity-endorsed advertising, while television actors represented 1%. Combined, film stars generated more than three-fourths of the total celebrity-endorsed ad volume during IPL 2026.
More celebrities featured in IPL advertising
The number of personalities appearing in advertisements increased compared with the previous season.
According to the report, IPL 2026 featured more than 70 celebrities across commercials, up from over 60 in IPL 2025, reflecting a 17% rise. The count of sports celebrities crossed 30 during IPL 2026, compared with more than 20 in IPL 2025, marking a 52% increase.
Shah Rukh Khan remains most visible celebrity
Among all celebrities appearing in advertisements, Shah Rukh Khan recorded the highest share of ad volumes during IPL 2026 at 10%.
He was followed by Ishaan Khatter with a 9% share. Ajay Devgn, Amyra Dastur and Tiger Shroff each accounted for 7% of ad volumes.
The report noted that Shah Rukh Khan also led the rankings in IPL 2025, when he held an 8% share of ad volumes. Ajay Devgn was among the top five celebrities in both IPL 2025 and IPL 2026.
Rohit Sharma tops sports celebrity rankings
Within the sports category, Rohit Sharma emerged as the leading sports endorser during IPL 2026 with a 22.1% share of ad volumes.
Hardik Pandya ranked second with 16%, followed by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma at 5.1% each. Virat Kohli completed the top five with a 5% share.
The study highlighted that Rohit Sharma was the only sports celebrity to feature among the top five sports endorsers in both IPL 2025 and IPL 2026. In IPL 2025, MS Dhoni had topped the sports celebrity rankings with a 17.3% share.
Categories and advertisers drive majority of endorsement volumes
Celebrity endorsements were concentrated across a handful of product and service categories. The top five categories accounted for 71% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes during IPL 2026.
These categories were mouth fresheners, e-commerce services, paints, corporate financial institutions and air conditioners. TAM Sports noted that each of the top five categories belonged to a different sector.
On the advertiser side, the top five advertisers contributed 68% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. Vishnu Packaging, Google, Havells India, Grasim Industries and Reliance Consumer Products emerged as the leading advertisers using celebrity endorsements during the tournament.
The study examined commercial advertising aired during live IPL 2025 and IPL 2026 matches across television broadcasts. The analysis excluded pre-match, mid-match and post-match programming, as well as promos, social advertisements, franchise-related content, fillers, film trailers and broadcaster promotions.
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