Vaibhav Suryavanshi may have been sending bowlers into therapy, but IPL 2026 advertising rates have shown far less aggression than the teenager’s strike rate. Unlike the last-minute bidding frenzy seen in 2025 — and even 2024 — broadcasters this season are still waiting for advertisers to walk out swinging.
Industry sources said linear TV spot rates for Sunday’s final are currently hovering around ₹21-24 lakh for 10 seconds, roughly 15% higher than league-stage pricing. That’s a modest rise considering the tournament has delivered soaring viewership, record-breaking batting numbers and enough sixes to threaten low-flying aircraft.
By the time the playoff race intensified, the tournament had crossed an unprecedented 1.1 billion viewers, according to figures released by JioStar. Digital reach rose 15% year-on-year, while connected TV (CTV) posted a sharp 25% jump in reach and a 20% increase in watch-time. Regional-language viewing also surged 42%.
Yet, despite the audience boom, advertisers appear to be treating the IPL like a cautious middle-order batter on a tricky pitch.
“Quite a lot of inventory remains unsold on both OTT and linear TV,” said a media buyer. “There will be some movement over the next two days, though not much.”
Subhodip Pal, chief executive officer at ITW Universe Integrated Marketing Services, said the strategic timeout may have unintentionally become the perfect metaphor for advertiser sentiment this year.
“With at least two out of the four breaks often going without advertisers, it’s largely been a sponsorship-only advertiser base,” he said. “The last five matches have seen some brands crashing the party, but unlike earlier seasons, there hasn’t been a late scramble for slots.”
That marks a contrast from IPL 2025, when Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s run to the final triggered an advertiser frenzy, pushing spot rates up 40-50% over league-stage levels.
This year, spot rates have barely budged through the tournament, staying around ₹18 lakh for a 10-second combined SD+HD feed — roughly where they started. Pricing gains have instead come from premium viewing environments. CTV CPMs climbed nearly 20% year-on-year to around ₹600, while premium linear TV inventory around marquee fixtures and playoffs has seen a 10% uptick over last year’s ₹18-28 lakh benchmark.
On mobile, however, the standard 10-second CPM has remained largely flat at around ₹250 despite significantly higher inventory volumes and rising digital consumption.
The season itself began on a somewhat tentative note. TAM AdEx data showed TV ad volumes for the first 13 matches fell 3% year-on-year. Advertising categories dropped 22% to around 40, while the advertiser base shrank 31% to roughly 45 brands.
Things improved as the tournament progressed. TAM Sports data later showed linear TV ad volumes for the first 48 matches rose 2.2% over last season, while industry estimates pegged IPL digital reach at nearly 600-650 million viewers, with CTV already accounting for 35-40% of the audience mix.
Umair Mohammad, founder and CEO of Nitro Commerce, said IPL 2026 has become less about inflation in ad rates and more about inflation in the value of attention.
“What brands increasingly realise is that mass reach alone no longer guarantees visibility or recall,” he said.
In a fragmented, second-screen world, generic spot buying risks becoming background wallpaper. Brands are instead gravitating towards moments with stronger emotional engagement and attribution — owning DRS reviews, Super 4s and towering sixes rather than simply buying airtime.
“IPL is no longer just India’s biggest media property. Over the years, it has evolved into India’s largest live attention and commerce marketplace,” Mohammad said. “The most valuable IPL viewer today isn’t the mass mobile user, but the affluent family watching together on a smart TV during a tense chase.”