Food & Beverages emerges as the leading sector with 22% share of ad volumes: TAM Report

India's television advertising ecosystem continues to re-calibrate throughout the first half of 2025. TAM AdEx's Half Yearly Report for January–June 2025 states that, in comparison to the same time in 2024, television channel ad volumes fell by 10%. Despite being slight, this decline shows a calculated retreat by advertisers who seem to be reevaluating their media mix in response to shifting consumer habits, developing digital ecosystems, and financial considerations. With over 6,600 brands actively advertising, mostly from FMCG behemoths, television remained a fiercely competitive market despite this downturn.

Notably, news and general entertainment channels (GECs) still held the majority of airtime, but fresh growth was seen in industries including digital-first services, e-commerce, and vocational training. The report provides a clear picture of both stability and emerging shifts in India's television advertising landscape, with the top ten sectors accounting for nearly 90% of total ad volumes and legacy brands like Hindustan Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser continuing to hold a stronghold on the top advertiser and brand lists.

With 22% of all ad volumes during that time, the "Food & Beverages" industry has become the biggest contributor to television advertising in India. This put it ahead of the Personal Hygiene and Personal Care sector, which had a 16 percent stake, and the Services sector, which had a 14 percent share.

Ad Volumes Decline By 10% YoY

Compared to 2024, TV advertising volumes decreased by 10% between January and June of 2025. This decline, which TAM attributes to a strategic recalibration in brand advertising, suggests a period of cautious spending that may have been impacted by changing media mix models or macroeconomic concerns.

Toilet Soaps Take the Lead in Categories

On a more detailed level, Toilet Soaps were the most popular category, closely followed by Washing Powders/Liquids and Toilet/Floor Cleaners. Interestingly, rankings in six of the top ten categories were higher than they were the previous year. New entrants like e-commerce and aerated soft drinks showed how shifting consumer behavior is affecting category-level advertising expenditures.

Airtime is still dominated by a small number of categories, as seen by the fact that the top 10 categories collectively accounted for 33% of total TV ad volumes.

Top Advertisers

Of all ad volumes, 47% came from the top 10 advertisers. This list was dominated by Hindustan Unilever, followed by Reckitt Benckiser India and then Godrej Group, retaining their previous spots. Coca-Cola, who backed fourth place, saw a major jump from position eighth last year. Procter & Gamble, Cadburys, GlaxoSmithKline, Pepsi Foods, Nestle India, and Tata Group were among the other major participants.

GECs Still Rules the Channel Preferences

With a 31% share of ad volumes, general entertainment channels (GECs) remained the most popular advertising venue, just ahead of news channels (28%) and movie theaters (22%). Kids and music channels came in second and third, with 11% and 4%, respectively.

In January–June 2024 and 2025, more than 95% of the total advertising volume was distributed among the top five channel categories. This constant demonstrates how, despite changes in the market, advertisers' choices for broad-reach genres hold steady.

Reckitt Dominates the Top Brand Chart

Among the 6,600+ brands advertising on TV during this period, Harpic Power Plus 10x Advanced claimed the first position making Reckitt Benckiser dominate with 6 out of the top 10 brands. Other Reckitt brands include Dettol Toilet Soaps, Dettol Antiseptic Liquid, Lizol Shakti, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, and Lizol All-in-1. The chart also featured HUL’s Close up Ever Fresh and Surf Excel Matic Liquid, and GSK’s Sensodyne Toothpaste.

These top 10 brands collectively accounted for 11% of all TV ad volumes, demonstrating the ability of large brands to hold onto share-of-voice.