Sports
IPL 2026 sees fans shift from viewers to active digital participants
From fantasy leagues to real-time play, engagement now goes beyond the match
MUMBAI: As the Indian Premier League gears up for its 2026 season, a quieter but far more profound transformation is taking place off the pitch. The modern cricket fan is no longer just watching the game. They are actively shaping the experience around it.
Over recent seasons, fan behaviour has shifted from passive viewership to continuous digital participation. What was once centred on match-day broadcasts has evolved into a year-round engagement cycle driven by apps, gaming layers and personalised content journeys.
Today’s IPL fan is as likely to be managing a fantasy team or predicting match outcomes as they are watching live play. Fans are building private leagues, using in-game boosters and interacting with real-time notifications, often consuming highlights within minutes of key moments. In one recent season alone, more than 400,000 fantasy users created over 75,000 leagues and deployed upwards of 200,000 gameplay boosters, underscoring the scale of this behavioural shift.
The change is not just about numbers, but depth. One leading franchise reported a 5.7 times increase in average fan engagement time after investing in a mobile-first digital ecosystem. It also built a base of over 2 million first-party fan profiles and achieved 64 percent in-season retention. Over three years, such digital investments contributed to a 40 percent rise in enterprise value, highlighting how engagement is translating into business impact.
SI SVP India Chintan Shah said, “The IPL is no longer defined by match-day consumption alone. Fan behaviour now extends across a connected ecosystem of content, interaction and participation, where engagement builds progressively over time rather than peaking around live moments. This evolution is reshaping how sports properties think about audience value.”
Similar patterns are emerging across the league. Another franchise recorded a 4.6 times jump in engagement time and a 2.4 times increase in app screen views, alongside more than 500,000 app downloads. These gains point to a growing appetite for deeper, more interactive experiences beyond the match window.
Video remains a powerful entry point, with digital platforms collectively delivering over 2 billion views around match content. However, industry observers note that video alone is no longer enough to build loyalty. It is the interactive layers around these moments that keep fans coming back.
Loyalty programmes and gamified experiences are also playing a key role. In one case, over 400,000 app downloads were driven through integrated rewards systems, while in-app campaigns during peak match periods recorded response rates of 50 to 65 percent. Such figures suggest fans are not just watching but willingly participating when the experience feels timely and rewarding.
At the heart of this shift is a move towards owned fan relationships. While social media continues to drive reach, franchises are increasingly focusing on direct engagement through unified logins, CRM systems and personalised content journeys. The goal is to understand fan preferences more deeply, from favourite players to content habits and frequency of interaction.
As IPL 2026 begins, the league is no longer just a broadcast spectacle. It has become a dynamic, interactive platform where sport, data and digital behaviour converge. The real contest now is not only for viewership, but for attention, participation and long-term loyalty.
Sports
IPL 2026 ad race sees digital-first categories dominate CTV
E-commerce leads CTV with 35 per cent share; Google tops linear TV
MUMBAI: In the IPL’s biggest face-off yet, it’s not just bat versus ball, it’s screen versus screen. And in IPL 2026, connected TV seems to be playing a very different game from traditional television. Fresh data from TAM Sports shows that advertising trends across Linear TV and CTV diverged sharply during the first 22 matches of the tournament, underlining how brands are splitting strategies across platforms.
On CTV, digital-first categories clearly stole the spotlight. E-commerce media, entertainment and social media alone accounted for a commanding 35 per cent share of ad volumes, followed by e-commerce services at 12 per cent. Smartphones (8 per cent), cars (7 per cent) and air conditioners (5 per cent) rounded off the top five, signalling a strong tilt towards tech-savvy, urban audiences.
Linear TV, however, told a more traditional story. Mouth fresheners led with a 14 per cent share, followed by e-commerce services at 12 per cent. Categories such as e-wallets, financial institutions and paints each held a 6 per cent share, reflecting mass-market consumption patterns that continue to anchor broadcast television.
The advertiser mix further highlights this split. On CTV, Star India (JioHotstar) dominated with a hefty 35 per cent share, followed by Google at 20 per cent. Havells India and Renault India each accounted for 4 per cent, while Reliance Consumer Products stood at 3 per cent.
On Linear TV, Google emerged as the top advertiser with a 13 per cent share, followed by Reliance Consumer Products at 9 per cent. Vishnu Packaging and Havells India held 6 per cent each, with K P Pan Foods at 5 per cent.
Despite these differences, there was notable overlap. More than 25 categories and over 20 advertisers were common across both platforms during the 22-match period. E-commerce, mouth fresheners, cars and paints featured prominently across screens, while brands like Star India (JioHotstar), Google and Reliance Consumer Products maintained strong cross-platform presence.
Yet, exclusivity is where the divergence becomes sharper. CTV saw over 15 exclusive categories and more than 25 exclusive advertisers, including smartphones, astrologers and fast food outlets. Linear TV mirrored this with over 15 exclusive categories and 20-plus advertisers, led by chocolates, jewellery and personal care.
The broader takeaway is clear. IPL advertising is no longer a one-screen strategy. CTV is fast emerging as a playground for digital-native, high-engagement categories, while Linear TV continues to deliver scale for traditional mass brands.
As the tournament progresses, one thing is evident: in the advertising IPL, it’s not just about where the eyeballs are, it’s about which screen they’re on.
