iWorld
Cricket and festive shopping: A winning combination for brands
Mumbai: The festive season is now close enough for shoppers to seek amazing deals and fill their carts with the best offerings. As the excitement builds, brands are zeroing in on the most effective campaigns to capture the attention of these eager shoppers. And what better way to stand out than through the universal appeal of cricket? Starting 19 September , the lineup is thrilling, with the Indian team battling for glory against major rivals: Bangladesh, New Zealand, and South Africa. By integrating the excitement of high-stakes cricket into festive campaigns, brands can tap into collective enthusiasm, driving higher impact and resonance.
Team India will step on the crease for two Tests and three T20Is against Bangladesh from 19 September to 12 October, three Tests against New Zealand from 16 October to 5 November, and four T20Is against South Africa from 8 November to 15 November. These T20Is and test matches offer advertisers a prime opportunity to connect with audiences and add to the festivities across Navratri, Dussehra, Karwa Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Bhaidooj and Chhath Puja.
With JioCinema and Sports18 holding the digital and TV rights for these matches respectively, the comprehensive coverage will enable highly targeted and impactful media campaigns. It means potentially reaching out to over 630 million passionate fans, across devices – wherever they are tuning in from! With millions of viewers opting to watch the matches on CTV devices, including 4K experiences, brands can also target premium audiences who seek top-quality experiences and are likely to make high-ticket purchases. Leveraging comprehensive coverage, innovative ad formats, and precision targeting across 80+ cohorts, brands can ensure their campaigns are engaging and effective throughout the festive cricket period.
The festive season is synonymous with increased shopping and spending. Over the past two years, this period has seen a remarkable 30 per cent increase in auto sales, reflecting a strong consumer appetite for high-value purchases and new vehicles during the celebrations. Credit card spending has risen by 1.3x, highlighting a significant boost in consumer confidence and willingness to spend on varied goods and services. Lifestyle and apparel sales have experienced a 1.6x increase, underscoring a heightened focus on personal and fashion-related purchases as consumers indulge in festive shopping.
This year, 50 per cent of consumers are preparing to increase their online spending during the festive season, driven by the convenience and variety offered by digital platforms. As Indians embrace celebratory shopping sprees, brands must leverage this surge in expenditure. With its broad appeal, cricket provides the ideal backdrop for marketing campaigns that tap into the season’s shopping trends and consumer enthusiasm.
Compared to Kantar India benchmarks, brands have witnessed a two times uplift across Brand KPIs by advertising on bilateral tournaments with JioCinema. The remarkable results underscore the significant impact of integrating cricket into advertising strategies. With the festive season approaching, the impact is anticipated to be even greater, and brands must stand ready at the crease to maximise their reach and engagement.
Brands can tap into Fence Ads for high visibility during live matches, Midroll Carousels to create engaging experiences during the breaks and Expandable CTAs to encourage fans to take immediate action. Social Banners and Scorecard Branding can help brands own the exciting conversations around live matches, enhancing the viewer experience. Branded VODs can facilitate deeper engagement by tapping into key match moments and Frame Ads ensure consistent visibility for the time viewers spend outside the live, consuming on-demand content.
Combining these formats with precision targeting across over 80 audience cohorts allows brands to tailor their messages to specific segments, maximising relevance, and impact. This targeted approach ensures that campaigns reach the right people, enhancing effectiveness and ensuring brand messages resonate strongly with their intended audiences. Brands must make the most of India’s excitement for cricket to make a memorable impact during the festive season.
MUMBAI: If cricket were a binge-worthy series, this one just dropped its most explosive pilot yet. The opening weekend of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League has come out swinging, smashing records across both television and digital platforms and reaffirming the tournament’s unmatched pull in India’s sporting and media landscape.
Backed by two high-octane matches featuring 200-plus run chases, the tournament delivered a combined reach of over 515 million viewers across linear TV and digital platforms via JioStar’s broadcast ecosystem, including Star Sports and JioHotstar. More tellingly, engagement surged alongside reach, with total watch-time hitting 32.6 billion minutes, a sharp 26 per cent jump over the opening weekend of the previous season.
The numbers reveal a deeper shift in how India watches cricket. Connected TV (CTV) consumption rose by 30 per cent, while peak concurrency on digital platforms jumped 61 per cent, signalling a growing appetite for shared, big-screen streaming experiences. On traditional television, the momentum held strong, with TV ratings (TVR) climbing 24 per cent compared to earlier seasons’ opening matches.
A key driver of this spike has been the evolution of the viewing experience itself. This season introduced differentiated feeds, most notably a Hindi CTV broadcast featuring cricketing voices such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. Blending expert analysis with a watch-along format, the feed has added a conversational, almost second-screen feel without requiring viewers to leave their screens.
According to JioStar CEO for Sports Ishan Chatterjee, at the opening weekend underscores not just scale but also the depth of engagement that live cricket continues to command. He noted that the combination of large-screen viewing and digital interactivity is creating a more immersive and personalised experience, while also delivering tangible outcomes for brand partners.
From the league’s perspective, the early numbers point to a tournament that continues to reinvent itself. Arun Singh Dhumal, Chairman of the IPL, said the strong start reflects how high-quality cricket paired with enhanced viewing formats is resonating with audiences nationwide, while Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia highlighted the “quality of engagement” as a key takeaway, not just the scale.
Commercially too, the opening weekend signals robust advertiser confidence. The broadcast is led by co-presenting sponsors including Google (Search AI Mode), Campa Energy, and Havells & Lloyd, alongside co-powered partners such as Birla Opus, Hero Motocorp and Amazon. A long tail of associate sponsors from OpenAI and Asian Paints to Flipkart and Amul further reflects the league’s unmatched ability to aggregate advertiser interest at scale.
Taken together, the opening weekend numbers are less a spike and more a statement. With 515 million viewers, 32.6 billion minutes of watch-time, and double-digit growth across formats, IPL 2026 has not just started strong, it has set the tone for a season that looks poised to push the boundaries of both sport and spectacle.
