Television advertisers placed a stronger emphasis on celebrity appeal during the 19th season of the Indian Premier League, as celebrity-endorsed commercials recorded a 34% rise in ad volumes compared to the previous edition, according to a report released by TAM Sports.
The report revealed that advertisements featuring celebrities made up 61% of total commercial ad volumes during IPL 19, compared to 53% during IPL 18. The findings indicate that brands are increasingly relying on well-known personalities to stand out amid the intense advertising competition surrounding one of India’s largest television spectacles. Advertisements without celebrity endorsements accounted for the remaining 39% share.
TAM Sports stated that the indexed growth of celebrity-backed advertising volumes reached 134 during IPL 19, using IPL 18 as the benchmark index of 100. This reflected a year-on-year increase of 34% in celebrity-driven ad visibility.
“During IPL 19, there was a lift of 34% in the share of celebrity-endorsed ads compared to the previous season,” the report said.
Film stars dominate endorsement landscape
Bollywood celebrities continued to lead the endorsement ecosystem throughout the tournament. Film actors represented 55% of celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes, while film actresses accounted for an additional 22%.
Combined, movie stars captured more than three-quarters of the celebrity endorsement market. Despite the IPL being a cricket-centric event, sports personalities contributed 22% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes, whereas television actors held a marginal 1% share.
The data indicates that brands still prefer mainstream entertainment figures to enhance brand recall and strengthen audience engagement, even within a major sporting event.
More celebrities featured during IPL 19
The report further pointed to a rise in the overall number of celebrities appearing in advertisements. The total number of celebrities featured in commercials surpassed 70 during IPL 19, up from more than 60 during IPL 18, marking a 17% increase.
Sports personalities recorded an even more significant jump, with their numbers climbing 52% to exceed 30 during IPL 19, compared with over 20 in the previous season.
According to TAM Sports, the trend reflects advertisers broadening their pool of celebrity endorsers and adopting more varied endorsement strategies during the tournament.
Shah Rukh Khan retains top spot
Among all celebrity endorsers, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan emerged as the most visible personality during IPL 19, accounting for a 10% share of celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes. He had also secured the top position in IPL 18 with an 8% share.
Actor Ishaan Khatter ranked second with a 9% share during IPL 19, while Ajay Devgn, Amyra Dastur and Tiger Shroff each contributed 7% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes.
During IPL 18, Shah Rukh Khan topped the list, followed by Ananya Panday, actor Laksh Lalwani, former India captain MS Dhoni and Ajay Devgn.
The report noted that Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn remained among the top five celebrity endorsers in both seasons, highlighting their consistent popularity among advertisers.
Rohit Sharma leads among sportspersons
In the sports segment, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma emerged as the leading sports celebrity during IPL 19, contributing 22.1% of sports celebrity advertising volumes.
He was followed by Hardik Pandya with a 16% share, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma each accounted for 5.1%. Virat Kohli completed the top five rankings with a 5% share.
In IPL 18, MS Dhoni led the sports endorsement rankings with a 17.3% share, followed by Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mohammed Siraj.
Rohit Sharma was the only sports personality to secure a place among the top five sports endorsers across both IPL editions.
Categories span multiple sectors
Unlike previous years, where celebrity advertising was concentrated within a few sectors, IPL 19 witnessed brands from a wider range of industries using celebrity endorsements.
The top five categories collectively generated 71% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes and came from varied sectors. These included mouth fresheners, e-commerce services, paints, financial institutions and air conditioners.
Likewise, the top five advertisers together contributed 68% of celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes. The leading advertisers were Vishnu Packaging, Google, Havells India, Grasim Industries and Reliance Consumer Products.
The report highlights that celebrity endorsements continue to play a crucial role in television advertising strategies during high-profile sporting events, with brands increasingly allocating resources to star-driven campaigns to boost visibility and attract consumer attention amid fierce competition.
The analysis was based on commercial advertising volumes recorded across five Star Network feeds and 12 JioHotstar feeds during all live IPL 18 and IPL 19 matches.
The study excluded pre-match, mid-match and post-match programming, along with franchise promotions, fillers, film trailers and broadcaster promotions.
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