The increase came in a season when advertiser participation in the IPL declined even as overall advertising volumes remained elevated.
A separate TAM Sports analysis released last week showed that while the number of advertisers, brands and categories participating in the tournament fell from the previous season, average ad volume per channel per match rose more than 4%.
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The IPL remains India’s biggest sports marketing platform, attracting up to $1 billion annually in brand investments across media advertising, sponsorships and activations, industry experts said. According to WPP, India’s sports advertising market was valued at nearly $2 billion in 2025, with cricket accounting for around 90% of total spending.
According to TAM, the ratio of celebrity-endorsed to non-celebrity advertisements rose to 61:39 in IPL 19 from 53:47 in IPL 18.
“The 34% growth in the use of celebrities in advertising during this IPL is primarily driven by a tactical approach to make brand messages stand out from the clutter, enable easy brand recognition against competitors and personify brand values through celebrities,” said LV Krishnan, CEO of TAM Media. “Ultimately, it is all about creating impact.”Film stars accounted for 77% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes during IPL 19, while sports personalities contributed 22% and television actors 1%, according to the report. The celebrity pool also expanded during the season, with more than 70 celebrities featuring in IPL advertising compared with over 60 in IPL 18. The number of sports celebrities rose to more than 30 from over 20.
Among individual endorsers, Shah Rukh Khan emerged as the most visible celebrity, accounting for 10% of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. Ishaan Khatter followed with a 9% share, while Ajay Devgn, Amyra Dastur and Tiger Shroff accounted for 7% each.
Shah Rukh Khan had also topped the celebrity rankings during IPL 18 with an 8% share of celebrity-endorsed ad volumes. Among sports personalities, Rohit Sharma led with a 22.1% share of sports celebrity ad volumes during IPL 19, followed by Hardik Pandya at 16%. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma accounted for 5.1% each, while Virat Kohli contributed 5%.