The recently concluded season 18 of the IPL saw a 30% rise in advertisers and a 29% increase in brands over the previous season, while overall ad volumes saw a growth of 10.5%, according to TAM Sports' latest report on advertising during the matches, showcasing continued advertiser confidence in the league's unmatched reach and engagement.

Parle Biscuits topped the advertiser list in IPL 18 with an 8% share, followed by Vishnu Packaging and Reliance Consumer Products, while Vimal Elaichi led the list of brands during the season.

Both Dream11 and Vimal Elaichi maintained their presence in the top five brands across both current and previous seasons of the league.

During IPL 18, the top five sponsors contributed 27% of ad volume, while the top five in IPL 17 contributed 33%. 

Sporta Technologies, K P Pan Foods & Vishnu Packaging figured among the top  five advertisers common between IPL 18 and IPL 17.

The food & beverage sector led IPL 18 with a 36% share, followed by services (23%) and auto (9%). Notably, personal care, a top player in IPL 17, slipped out of the top five, to be replaced by building & industrial materials.

At the category level, mouth fresheners topped in both the current and previous seasons, while ecom-gaming held steady in third place in both seasons.

During IPL 18, the top five categories accounted for 40% of total ad volume, compared to 43% in IPL 17.

A key shift in creative execution was the resurgence of ultra-short formats, with ads under 10 seconds being the most preferred (54% of insertions) this season, while in  the previous season of IPL, 11 –20 second ads were most preferred followed by the under 10 seconds ad.

A total of 186 brands advertised across both national (Hindi + English) and regional sports channels, indicating a hybrid targeting approach.

Vimal Elaichi dominated the top five brand list for common brands across languages on Hindi, English, as well as regional language sports channels.

The final of IPL 2025 saw the highest jump in ad volume, compared to the corresponding match in IPL 17, further cementing the championship game as a valuable inventory for sponsors and media planners.