Even though IPL 2021 has been suspended, the advertisement department enjoyed a good first half of the season. As per the TAM Sports Report, the average advertising volumes during the 29 matches of IPL 2021 grew by 2% as compared to IPL 2020. The tally of categories grew by 7% to more than 75 brands whereas the count of advertisers and brands decreased by 4% & 10% to 90+ and 165+ respectively in this season compared to last.
The analysis of commercial advertising is based upon the ad volumes across 20 Star Network channels for IPL 2021 and 19 for IPL 2020. The Top 5 categories have collectively contributed more than 33% of overall ad volumes compared to 40% in the previous edition. E-Commerce continued to be the leading contributor in the advertisement department. Ecom-Gaming, the most dominant sector in both seasons, this year contributed 10% share of ad volumes followed by Ecom-Education (6%), Soft Drinks (6%), Ecom-Wallets (6%), and Pan Masala (5%)
The leading advertisers in Ecom-Gaming were Sporta Technologies, Galactus Funware Technology, and Gameskraft Technology followed by Think & Learn, Sorting Hat Technologies, and Think & Learn/The Walt Disney Co India in the Ecom-Education category.
In the Aerated Soft Drink category, the leading advertisers were Coca-Cola India, Parle Agro, and PepsiCo. In the Ecom-Wallets, FX Mart and Dreamplug Technologies were the leading advertisers. K P Pan Foods and Vishnu Packaging were the leaders in the Pan Masala category.
During IPL 2021, more than 30 new categories appeared in advertisements. Among the new categories, Securities topped the list followed by Fans, Refrigerators, Hair Dyes, and Mineral Water.
The Top five brands namely Dream11, Upstox, Jdmart, PhonePe, and Rajshree Silver Coated Elaichi contributed a 20% share of ad volumes with Dream11.com being the most advertised brand. Sporta Technologies and FX Mart are among the top five advertisers between IPL 2021 and IPL 2020. In terms of ad lengths, 10-20 seconds ads were utilised the most during commercial breaks, followed by 21-30 seconds advertisement commercials.