IPL 2026 signals a shift as advertisers seek more from premium buys

With premium pricing and multi-screen engagement at play, IPL is fast evolving into a full-funnel marketplace where advertisers are chasing measurable returns, not just visibility

The Indian Premier League is entering a decisive phase in its commercial evolution. What was once the most powerful reach vehicle in Indian advertising is now being recalibrated as a platform where outcomes matter as much as eyeballs. 

With IPL 2026 witnessing a 10-15% surge in ad rates compared to World Cup benchmarks, industry estimates suggest a similar range of year-on-year increase, according to an industry expert who spoke to exchange4media on condition of anonymity. The underlying question for marketers is no longer about scale alone but about the efficiency of that scale.

This shift is unfolding at a time when media fragmentation, rising costs, and increased accountability force brands to rethink how they approach large tentpole properties. IPL continues to deliver unmatched reach, but advertisers now demand that this reach translates into engagement, intent, and measurable business outcomes. The league is no longer treated as a standalone broadcast property but as a multi-layered marketing ecosystem.

The implications are significant. IPL is moving beyond its identity as a high-decibel branding platform to become a full-funnel marketplace where awareness, engagement, and conversion are expected to operate in tandem. For brands, this means rethinking not just how they spend on IPL, but what they expect in return.

Pricing signals a deeper shift

The pricing dynamics of IPL 2026 further underline this transition. Industry estimates suggest that during IPL 2025, connected TV inventory was typically sold at around ₹480 CPM, with premium matches pushing average CTV CPMs closer to ₹650 and roughly ₹7.5–8.5 lakh for a 10-second spot. This remained significantly lower than television, where a 10-second IPL spot commanded anywhere between ₹18 lakh and ₹28 lakh. Mobile streaming inventory, meanwhile, traded at approximately ₹250–340 CPM.

Read more on how IPL ad rates are holding steady

For IPL 2026, however, the base CTV CPM on JioStar’s rate card has moved to around ₹600 for a 10-second ad, while handheld rates have remained broadly stable. This effectively positions connected TV as a distinct premium layer within the IPL ecosystem rather than just another extension of digital video.

The spread now raises a sharper question for marketers. Is the roughly 25% premium on connected TV buying incremental, high-value reach on large screens, or are brands paying more to reach the same IPL audience across television, mobile, and CTV? The answer is becoming central to how investments are evaluated.

Anup Govindan, Head of Sales, Sports at JioStar, indicates that this scrutiny is already shaping conversations with advertisers. “A few years ago, TATA IPL investment was largely driven by category dynamics. That logic still exists, but it's no longer sufficient. What's changed is the quality of questions brands are asking. Incremental reach, cross-screen efficiency, full-funnel outcomes are now the entry point of every conversation, not an afterthought.”

He adds that data is beginning to validate this shift. “The BARC | Nielsen ONE Ads study, deployed during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, showed cross-platform duplication below 10% across linear TV, CTV, and mobile. These findings gave advertisers and brands scientific proof that a cross-screen strategy on JioStar delivers incremental reach, not overlap. That is ROI-led decision making, not defensive spending.”

Why are advertisers still finding value in IPL 

Scale remains, but scrutiny intensifies

The scale of IPL remains unparalleled. According to the FICCI EY report, IPL 2025 reached 1.18 billion viewers across television and digital platforms, marking its biggest season yet. Digital contributed 652 million viewers, while television accounted for 537 million, reinforcing the league’s hybrid distribution strength.

However, the divergence between reach and engagement is becoming more evident. Television drove 514 billion minutes of watch time compared to 385 billion minutes on OTT platforms, suggesting that while digital expands access, television continues to command deeper consumption. At the same time, digital engagement is becoming more interactive, with over 150 million users engaging with features and more than 200 million game plays recorded on Jio platforms.

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This duality is shaping how brands evaluate IPL. Yagnesh Ravi, Lead Ad Solutions at Snap Inc., explains that audience behaviour itself is redefining impact. “IPL today is no longer a single-screen experience. While broadcast continues to deliver scale, fan engagement is increasingly happening on the second screen where audiences are reacting, sharing and participating in real time. This is fundamentally shifting how brands think about impact, moving from reach alone to attention and active participation.”

The shift towards second-screen behaviour is particularly relevant for younger audiences. Ravi notes that nearly three in four Snapchatters engage with sports multiple times a week, and when platforms like Snapchat are part of the media mix, attention among Gen Z increases significantly. This highlights a growing need for brands to integrate across platforms rather than rely on a single format.

From visibility to value

The pressure to justify rising costs is pushing brands towards a more outcome-driven approach. Madhav Sheth, CEO of Ai+ Smartphone and Founder of NxtQuantum Shift Technologies, which has partnered with IPL teams Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, articulates this shift clearly. “IPL today is no longer just about scale, it’s about outcomes. As the ecosystem evolves, brands are moving from chasing visibility to building measurable impact across the funnel. For us, it’s about converting moments of attention into meaningful engagement, capturing consumer intent, and driving real transactions and not just impressions.”

This mindset is reshaping how sponsorships are structured. Partnerships are increasingly designed to extend beyond on-ground visibility into content integrations, fan experiences, and commerce-led activations. Sheth notes that collaborations with teams like KKR and MI are built to enable deeper engagement across touchpoints, integrating storytelling with conversion.

Govindan further reinforces how the platform itself is evolving. “The brand versus performance binary made sense when media was siloed. TATA IPL on JioStar has disrupted that model. Live cricket on our platform offers the scale of a mass cultural moment, combined with the precision to activate within it. CTV is perhaps the clearest proof of where this is heading, a premium, self-selected audience on large screens, with the targeting and measurability of digital.”

He adds that advertiser intent itself has changed. “Brands coming to us aren't bringing reach briefs. They're bringing audience and outcome briefs.” According to a Kantar-backed study cited by Govindan, brands advertising on live cricket on JioStar delivered up to 10.8 times higher purchase intent, reinforcing the platform’s ability to drive measurable outcomes.

Ravi underscores this convergence of culture and commerce. “Consumers today move seamlessly between content, communication and creation, requiring a more connected, multi-format approach across the funnel. With Gen Z driving $860 billion in consumer spending and over 85% of them following IPL, moments like these represent a powerful convergence of culture and commerce.”

The debate around scale versus impact

Despite the continued emphasis on reach, there is growing scepticism within the industry about whether scale alone can deliver meaningful outcomes. Mihir Mehta, Managing Partner at 0101.Today, points out that the industry has often conflated viewership with effectiveness.

“Scale has always been an important lever, but in today’s fragmented media ecosystem, it is no longer sufficient on its own. Rising viewership often signals reach, not necessarily attention, intent, or conversion. A lot depends on screen size, viewing context, and actual user attention,” he says.

Mehta highlights that high-reach environments can sometimes deliver declining marginal attention, with inefficient frequency leading to wasted impressions rather than incremental impact. Limited visibility into how exposure translates into lower funnel outcomes further complicates measurement.

An industry expert, speaking anonymously to exchange4media, points out that while conversations around new measurement frameworks are gaining traction, deal structures have not fully caught up. “There is a lot of talk about this new form of measurement. However, deals are still being closed on basic rates. On TV it is still rate-based buying, and on digital and CTV you are still talking about CPM. Many sponsors are already on board for IPL, but none of those deals are talking about any new measurement or new metrics at all.”

The expert adds that while rates continue to rise, buying strategies are becoming more targeted. “Year on year, IPL rates have been going up. What has changed is that more deals are now closed on targeting. Brands are becoming more region specific and match specific. Instead of buying the entire tournament, they are picking key matches or phases where viewership peaks.”

This targeted approach reflects both cost pressures and evolving media capabilities. The same expert notes that while the rate increase may appear modest at 10–15%, the overall outlay for brands rises significantly due to the length and scale of the tournament. “IPL is a 40 to 50 day carnival. A brand that may have spent around ₹8 crore on a T20 World Cup could end up spending ₹25 crore on IPL because of the number of matches and sustained presence required.”

IPL’s transition into a marketplace

Beyond advertising, IPL is also evolving into a structured digital economy. A case study by Sports Initiative titled From Reach to Relationship highlights how franchises are rethinking their business models to focus on long-term fan value.

The report suggests that the next phase of IPL economics will be driven by the ability to convert broadcast audiences into owned, monetisable relationships. This involves building digital ecosystems that capture first-party data and enable personalised engagement across the fan lifecycle.

By operationalising data such as identity, preferences, and transaction signals, franchises can transform anonymous reach into actionable insights. This allows for targeted communication, improved retention, and more effective monetisation strategies.

The potential is significant. The study estimates that franchises could unlock up to ₹50 crore annually through a combination of data-led sponsorships, direct-to-fan commerce, memberships, and operational efficiencies. Crucially, this value is not dependent on scale alone but on the ability to build sustained relationships with fans.

This shift from reach to relationship is also influencing how sponsors approach IPL. Instead of viewing the tournament as a short-term visibility spike, brands are increasingly aligning their strategies with long-term consumer engagement and lifetime value.

Towards a blended model

While the push towards performance and accountability is accelerating, the industry is not abandoning brand building. Mehta emphasises that high-impact environments like IPL remain critical for storytelling and long-term equity. “There is still a belief that long-term brand equity cannot be built purely on performance metrics. It requires scale, storytelling, and immersive environments where attention is higher,” he says.

What is emerging is a blended model where reach and outcomes coexist. Awareness drives salience, while performance metrics validate effectiveness. IPL, with its combination of mass reach and interactive capabilities, is uniquely positioned to support this dual objective.

Ravi adds that brands need to adapt to this integrated reality. “The brands that will win are those that show up in ways that feel native to how this generation engages not just as ads, but as part of the experience turning attention into measurable business outcomes.”

A new definition of value

IPL’s transformation into a full-funnel marketplace reflects a deeper structural shift in advertising. As media consumption becomes more fragmented and measurable, the definition of value is being rewritten. For advertisers, the challenge is no longer participating in IPL but extracting tangible business outcomes from it. The rising cost of entry is accelerating this shift, forcing brands to move beyond visibility and focus on efficiency, engagement, and conversion.

In this new paradigm, IPL is not just a media property. It is a dynamic ecosystem where culture, content, and commerce intersect. The brands that succeed will be those that can navigate this complexity, leveraging data, creativity, and technology to turn moments of attention into sustained business impact.

As IPL 2026 unfolds, one thing is becoming increasingly clear. The league’s true value will no longer be measured by how many people watch, but by how many act.