As the IPL gears up for its 2026 season, mobile advertising is undergoing a fundamental transformation from experimental budgets to core marketing strategy.
Industry experts agree that the upcoming IPL represents a critical inflection point where mobile platforms must prove they can deliver predictable, measurable business outcomes, not just reach, to command serious advertiser commitments alongside traditional television.
Why Standard Video Formats Are Losing Ground
The era of basic pre-roll and mid-roll video inventory dominating mobile IPL advertising is ending. Nitin Sabharwal, Founding Partner and COO at Indixital, notes that “the market has moved past the phase where volume alone could unlock budgets.
What brands are asking for now is predictable scale and proof that mobile exposure during live matches can translate into action.”
Current mobile ad rates on platforms like JioHotstar range from Rs 180-200 CPM for standard placements to Rs 340+ for premium matches.
However, Vishal Singh, Vice President at Globale Media, emphasizes that “just explaining reach is no longer enough to unlock new money.” The opportunity lies in interactive formats, contextual placements triggered by match events, app-native formats enabling immediate user action, and high-attention placements embedded within live scorecards and player statistics.
Behavior-Driven Innovation Over Inventory Expansion
Vijay Shenoy, Deputy Vice President at LS Digital Group, argues that “incremental IPL mobile revenue won’t come from more mid-rolls; it has to come from understanding what fans actually do on their phones during matches.”
Mobile users rapidly shift between live streams, scorecards, fantasy interactions, messaging apps, and commerce platforms, creating opportunities for shoppable ads, click-to-WhatsApp integrations, and moment-triggered units appearing after wickets or sixes.
The Post-Fantasy Gaming Landscape
The regulatory changes affecting fantasy gaming platforms, which were among the largest mobile advertisers during the IPL, have created both challenges and opportunities.
Sabharwal views this as a catalyst for “smarter reallocation rather than chasing lost demand,” with advertisers shifting 40-50% of incremental IPL budgets from quick commerce, FMCG, and e-commerce categories toward mobile programmatic environments.
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Measurement Remains The Biggest Barrier
Despite steady growth, industry consensus points to measurement as the critical bottleneck preventing decisive budget shifts.
The industry lacks a unified framework linking attention, brand lift, and performance outcomes at scale. Marketers are allocating just 10-20% of their budgets to early matches, using tools like JioStar and Nielsen to track return on ad spend before committing larger allocations.
As IPL 2026 approaches, mobile’s growing share will be driven by evidence rather than optimism, transforming from a supplementary channel into a primary platform for brands seeking measurable impact during cricket’s biggest spectacle.
