MUMBAI: For decades, families gathered around the traditional telly to catch the Indian Premier League (IPL), enduring the same commercial breaks together. But in IPL 19, the advertising landscape has truly split its wickets. According to a comprehensive report by TAM Sports, the battle between traditional Linear TV and Connected TV (CTV) has revealed that how we watch changes who sells to us.
If you thought celebrity endorsements were a safe bet across the board, it is time for a reality check. The data shows a significant 24 per cent drop in the average ad volumes of celebrity-endorsed advertisements on Connected TV compared to Linear TV. While traditional television remains star-struck, boasting a 61:39 ratio in favour of celebrity-driven commercials, the streaming audience on CTV experienced a much more balanced 49:51 split, tipping slightly toward non-celebrity ads.
When it came to the type of star power lighting up our living rooms, the two platforms were practically playing different sports. Traditional Linear TV remained completely infatuated with showbiz. On Linear TV, film actors commanded 55 per cent of the celebrity ad volume share, while film actresses secured 22 per cent. Combined, film stars added up to over 75 per cent of the total celebrity ad volume. Sports personalities managed to grab a 22 per cent share, leaving TV actors with a mere 1 per cent.
Switch over to Connected TV, however, and the sports icons managed a spectacular comeback to hit showbiz out of the park. On CTV, it was the sports personalities who led the charge with a commanding 45 per cent share of the ad volume. Film actors dropped down to 35 per cent, film actresses accounted for 18 per cent, and TV actors saw a tiny bump to 2 per cent. In total, film stars dropped from their 75 per cent plus dominance on Linear to a more modest 50 per cent plus share on CTV.
Traditional television didn’t just win on volume; it also boasted a deeper bench of famous faces. Linear TV featured a total of 75 unique celebrities making appearances during the live action, compared to 71 on Connected TV, a 6 per cent advantage for the traditional screen.
The gap widened slightly when looking purely at sports figures:
Linear TV: Headlined 35 sports celebrities.
Connected TV: Fielded 32 sports celebrities (a 9 per cent drop from Linear).
Looking at the individual leaderboard, the two platforms rewarded completely different star strategies:
On Linear TV, King Khan reigned supreme. Shahrukh Khan led the pack with a 10 per cent share across four brands. Ishaan Khattar followed closely at 9 per cent (2 brands), while Ajay Devgan (1 brand), Amyra Dastur (1 brand), and Tiger Shroff (1 brand) each secured a tidy 7 per cent share.
On Connected TV, the younger generation took the crown. Ishaan Khattar matched his Linear performance with a 9 per cent share across two brands, tying with Sara Arjun, who also pulled in 9 per cent for a single brand. Ranveer Singh danced his way to a 7 per cent share (4 brands), Shubman Gill drove home 6 per cent (1 brand), and veteran icon Prakash Padukone rounded out the top five with 4 per cent (1 brand).
Interestingly, Ishaan Khattar was the ultimate cross-platform player, being the only film star to endorse two completely distinct advertiser brands across both verticals.
When isolating the sports stars, the division of attention was stark:
While Linear TV piled nearly 38 per cent of its sports ad volume onto just Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, CTV chose to spread its field much more evenly across its top five icons. Rohit Sharma stood out as the only elite sports star to successfully defend his position in the Top 5 list across both viewing formats.
While the faces on screen shifted dramatically, the sectors funding the madness showed a surprising amount of overlap, though they prioritised their targets differently. Out of all the groups vying for consumer eyeballs, three product categories and two massive advertisers managed to bridge the digital divide and feature on both platforms.
Traditional Linear TV (featuring a total of 25 plus categories) was heavily driven by impulse buys and corporate presence. The fresh-breathed Mouth Freshener category took the absolute top spot, followed by Ecom-Other Services, Paints, Corporate-Financial Institutes, and Air Conditioners.
Connected TV (which boasted a broader spread of 30 plus categories) leaned heavily into digital-first utility. Ecom-Other Services led the race here, with Paints, Credit Cards, Air Conditioners, and Biscuits completing the top order.
When it came to corporate spending power, both environments saw intense competition from over 35 plus advertisers per platform.
On Linear TV, Vishnu Packaging took the pole position, followed closely by tech behemoth Google, Havells India, Grasim Industries, and Reliance Consumer Products.
On Connected TV, Google upgraded itself to the undisputed number one spot. Sharing the digital stadium with the tech giant were Grasim Industries, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Britannia Industries, and Havells India.
Ultimately, the data from TAM Sports proves that while the live action of IPL 19 remains identical on the pitch, the ads you see are tailored entirely to how you choose to tune in. Traditional TV still relies on heavy cinematic star power to capture the masses, while the streaming ecosystem prefers to play a sharper game, leaning heavily on sports heroes and digital utility brands.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source indiantelevision.com ’
