India’s AdEx set for nearly 13% surge in 2026 over 2025: PMAR

The Pitch Madison Advertising Report (PMAR) 2026 was unveiled today in Mumbai in the presence of top industry leaders from the advertising, marketing and media world. This is the 24th edition of the report. Like all the other editions, the report highlights evolving trends and transformative shifts expected to shape the market in the coming year.

“With growth remaining largely flat around 12% over 2023–2025, under the expanded ADEX definition, overall ADEX in 2026 is forecast to grow to around Rs 1,74,605 crore, implying roughly 12–13% nominal growth over the 2025 base of Rs 1,55,105 crore”, the report stated. It added that the total digital AdEx in 2026 is expected to touch Rs 111,976 crore from Rs 93,156 crore in 2025.

The report was unveiled by distinguished leaders like Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World; Ajit Varghese, Partner and Group CEO, Madison World; Vivek Das, Chief Digital Officer, Madison World; Deepti Bhadauria, Partner and CEO, HiveMinds; Vikram Sakhuja, Partner and Director Madison Media; Lara Balsara Vajifdar, Executive Director of Madison World; Nawal Ahuja, Co-Founder, exchange4media; Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints; Girish Prabhu, VP & Head, Amazon Ads India; Sarina Menzes, Senior Vice President & Head – Marketing & Corporate Communication, Oberoi Realty.

The report added that under the legacy core-definition lens (excluding Q-Comm and MSME), growth is more muted at about 9%, taking ADEX from Rs 1,15,291 crore to roughly Rs 1,25,629 Crores, reinforcing that much of the incremental market is now being created in newer Digital ecosystems rather than legacy media alone.

Traditional media and Linear TV

The report said that traditional media is expected to grow only about 1% in value terms on the legacy series, from Rs 61,949 crore to about Rs 62,629 crore, taking its share down further even as absolute spends remain broadly stable. Within this, Linear TV is forecast to stay flat in value at roughly Rs 32,855 crores, while Print edges up about 3% and other Traditional media such as Cinema, Outdoor and Radio move in a narrow band of –5 to +5%, essentially confirming a low-growth, yield-management phase for the Traditional cluster.

Digital 

The report stated that digital continues to be the only true growth engine. On the core Digital definition (Search, Social, Video, Display, Ecommerce, and CTV), ADEX is projected to grow about 18%, from Rs 53,342 crore in 2025 to roughly Rs 63,000 crores in 2026, taking Digital and Traditional to rough parity at 50:50 in the legacy series. Under the expanded definition, Total Digital (Core + Q-Comm + MSME) is forecast to reach about Rs 1,11,976 crore in 2026, up 20% from Rs 93,156 crore in 2025, lifting Digital’s share of the expanded market from 60% to about 64%.

Quick Commerce

The most aggressive growth is expected from the newer Digital engines. Quick Commerce advertising is forecast to expand from about Rs 4,000 crore to roughly Rs 6,000 crore (around 50% growth), while MSME Digital spends are projected to grow about 20% from Rs 35,814 crore to around Rs 42,976 crore, together adding over Rs 9,000 crore of incremental Digital ADEX in a single year.

Print

Looking ahead to 2026–27, Print’s role is clear: a stable but selective, yield-driven medium. It will work hardest for Auto, BFSI, Real Estate & Home Improvement, and premium Education, the categories that need depth, trust and regional nuance—especially in Hindi and English markets, and when tightly orchestrated with Digital and Large Screen rather than treated as a standalone mass-reach tool.

OOH

In 2026, the winning approach is to treat OOH as part of an Integrated Attention System which is planned alongside Large Screen and Digital Video rather than as an isolated line bought purely on reach and frequency. The report states that OOH is the Traditional survivor, growing absolutely and relatively, holding share, and evolving (DOOH). It is the only Traditional medium growing in aggregate.

The Pitch Madison Advertising Report is launched by Pitch, in partnership with Madison World. The comprehensive report aims to examine advertising expenditure patterns across key platforms, including print, television, radio, out-of-home (OOH), internet and cinema, while also outlining projections for future market growth.

To download the full Pitch Madison Advertising Report (PMAR) 2026, click on this link: https://e4mevents.com/pitch-madison-advertising-report-2026/download-report