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While digital platforms continue to grow, the early numbers from TATA IPL 2025 suggest that television still holds a strong position, especially for live sports. The tournament’s performance on TV shows that linear viewing remains relevant for both audiences and advertisers.
According to industry sources, pay TV has added over a million net subscribers in the last quarter due to cricket properties ICC Champions Trophy and TATA IPL.
The influx of new subscribers provides a welcome relief to the pay-TV sector, which has been struggling to retain customers amid competition from Prasar Bharati’s DD Free Dish, as well as premium OTT platforms.
Industry experts said that with JioHotstar putting IPL behind the paywall, the pressure on the pay-TV industry has eased.
As per BARC data, over 25.3 crore viewers watched the opening weekend of IPL 2025, spending a total of 2,770 crore minutes in viewership. This is a 22% increase compared to the same period last year.
On the advertising front, a TAM report shows that ad volumes for the first 13 matches of IPL 18 grew by 12% over the previous season. This indicates that brands continue to invest in TV during major sporting events, despite the rise of digital media.
The increase in viewership numbers reaffirm the enduring power of live sports on traditional television, say industry experts, noting that the average TVR for the first three matches of this season was up by 39% compared to IPL 2024, reflecting not just higher reach but deeper viewer engagement.
“Sports, especially the IPL, continues to drive content consumption, demonstrating the power of both TV and digital, reaching 525 million viewers on TV and 550-600 million on streaming platforms. This is the Indian way – embracing innovation without abandoning tradition. With the IPL 2025 underway in full fervor, it will be exciting to see how it reaches new heights and break records across both TV and digital platforms once again,” Vaz said.
According to Rajiv Khattar, a veteran broadcast expert, “Sports has always been a unifier. Watching a match on a big screen with friends or family brings a thrill that handheld devices can't replicate. TV remains central to how we experience live sports — it's about bonding, not just consumption.”
Another expert said that traditionally, sports have always helped add to subscription and advertising revenue and “this holds true even today”.
Advertising trends followed suit. According to a TAM report, the ‘mouth freshener’ category led the ad charts, with Ecom-Gaming and Smartphones maintaining a strong presence. Interestingly, two of the top five ad categories belonged to the Food & Beverages (F&B) sector — a testament to IPL’s mass-market appeal.
Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd was the standout advertiser, dominating 12 of the first 13 matches. Sporta Technologies and Vishnu Packaging also featured prominently, maintaining continuity from the previous season. Collectively, the top five advertisers contributed 28% of total ad volumes, the report said.
In an increasingly fragmented viewing landscape, IPL 2025's opening numbers make one thing clear — live sports on linear TV still commands the kind of mass attention most platforms can only dream of.
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