The findings point to a structural change in how audiences engage with cricket’s biggest property. Exclusive television viewing has sharply declined, while hybrid viewing across TV and OTT has become dominant.
Only 18.98% of respondents said they watched IPL solely on television. In contrast, 38.26% mainly watched on TV while supplementing consumption on OTT platforms, while another 31.16% primarily watched through streaming and occasionally tuned into television.
The shift also reflects the growing frequency of engagement. Around 41.18% of respondents said they watched seven or more IPL matches a week, while another 29.78% watched six to seven games, taking average weekly consumption to 6.12 matches.
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The findings suggest IPL viewing is increasingly resembling a daily habit rather than event-based consumption.
The shift extends beyond live matches. Around 8.4% of respondents said they watched match highlights on YouTube, while 13.64% consumed IPL clips and reels on social media, underscoring how short-form and catch-up formats are extending fan engagement beyond live telecasts.The findings are based on an online panel survey conducted through Hansa Cheetah. The study covered 4,200 respondents during the first six weeks of IPL 2026, comprising male and female audiences aged 15 years and above from NCCS A/B households across 16 markets, including metros as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.
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Pramod Pawar, vice president, Quantitative Research at Hansa Research Group, said a double-digit decline in television viewership among core male audiences during the first six weeks of IPL 2026 reflected a mix of scheduling fatigue, changing viewing behaviour and weaker audience pull factors. He attributed this to the tournament’s prolonged format, overlap with other cricket properties including the T20 World Cup and bilateral series, and growing migration of younger urban audiences toward mobile streaming, connected TVs and highlights-led viewing.
Pawar added that heavily batting-friendly pitches and the absence or limited participation of marquee players such as MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, along with weaker performances by franchises such as Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, may also have softened engagement among casual viewers.
For advertisers, however, the fragmentation of viewing may be creating more touch points rather than fewer. Brand visibility remained strongest on player jerseys, recalled by 55.06% of respondents, followed by on-ground and pitch branding, boundary ropes, commentator backdrops and player helmets or hats.