India’s celebrity endorsement market is shifting in favour of sports personalities, with cricketers strengthening their presence in television advertising even as the overall volume of celebrity-led commercials declines.
Sports stars accounted for 28% of celebrity-endorsed television advertising between January and September 2026, up from 19% during the corresponding period in 2025. Over the same nine months, total celebrity-endorsed advertising volumes fell 17% year-on-year, according to TAM AdEx’s Celebrity Endorsement Report for January–September 2026.
The findings highlight the growing importance of athletes to Indian advertisers, with former India captain MS Dhoni, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly featuring prominently across different measures of brand endorsement activity.
Akshay Kumar overtakes MS Dhoni in brand endorsements
Dhoni lost his position as the celebrity associated with the highest number of brands on Indian television, although he remained one of the country’s most visible advertising personalities.
Actor Akshay Kumar moved into first place with 35 brands during January–September 2026, up from 21 a year earlier. Dhoni followed with 33 brands, a decline from the 54 recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Shah Rukh Khan ranked third with 29 brands, down from 38, while Amitabh Bachchan‘s count fell from 34 to 27.
Other prominent actors recorded mixed results. Ranbir Kapoor increased his brand associations from 22 to 26, while Kareena Kapoor declined from 30 to 24. Hrithik Roshan remained associated with 17 brands, and Pankaj Tripathi increased his tally from 13 to 20.
The rankings reflect the number of brands featuring each celebrity in television advertising rather than the total airtime generated by their commercials.
Dhoni and Bumrah remain among TV’s most visible endorsers
Despite the decline in his brand count, Dhoni retained a significant presence on Indian television.
Shah Rukh Khan led the celebrity visibility rankings, accounting for 10% of celebrity-endorsed advertising volume and averaging 26 hours of commercial airtime per day across television channels.
Dhoni ranked second with an 8% share and 22 hours of daily advertising exposure, while Bumrah followed with 3% and approximately seven hours per day.
The distinction between brand associations and airtime is important for advertisers evaluating celebrity partnerships. A personality appearing in campaigns for fewer brands can still generate substantial television exposure through the frequency and duration of those advertisements.
Tendulkar and Ganguly increase their brand portfolios
Beyond Dhoni and Bumrah, former India Captains Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly recorded substantial increases in the number of brands featuring them in television commercials.
Tendulkar’s tally rose from 14 brands during January–September 2025 to 24 in the corresponding period of 2026, while Ganguly increased his associations from 15 to 24.
Both finished level with Kareena Kapoor in the 2026 brand-count rankings.
The growth in their advertising portfolios indicates that established cricket personalities continue to attract commercial interest alongside current international players.
IPL season drives peak in celebrity advertising
The Indian Premier League (IPL) period coincided with the strongest quarter for celebrity-endorsed television advertising during the nine-month study.
Average daily celebrity advertising duration reached 308 hours between April and June 2026, compared with 252 hours in January–March and 234 hours in July–September.
May recorded the highest monthly share of celebrity advertising volume at 15%, while July had the lowest at 8%.
The April–June peak was attributed to increased advertising activity during the IPL season, underlining the tournament’s significance within India’s television advertising calendar.
The broader shift towards sports endorsers also reflects advertisers’ interest in using prominent athletes to engage younger consumers and develop longer-term brand associations.
Film celebrities retain majority share despite sports gains
Although sports personalities increased their share of celebrity advertising, film actors and actresses continued to account for the majority of endorsement activity on Indian television.
Their combined share declined from 72% during January–September 2025 to 65% in the corresponding period of 2026, while sports personalities’ share increased by nine percentage points.
Celebrity-endorsed commercials represented 25% of total television advertising duration during the period, despite the year-on-year decline in their overall volume.
Food and beverages remained the largest sector for celebrity advertising, accounting for 25% of activity. Personal care and personal hygiene followed at 18%, with household products contributing 9%.
Together, the three sectors represented 52% of celebrity-endorsed television advertising.
Paints lead celebrity diversity as household products dominate airtime
The categories using the widest range of celebrity endorsers were not necessarily those generating the greatest volume of celebrity-led advertising.
Paints featured 36 different celebrities, the highest among product categories, followed by building materials and systems with 31 and jewellery retail with 28.
Spices used 27 celebrity endorsers, while e-commerce services featured 25 and biscuits 22. Aerated soft drinks had 17, with edible oils, e-commerce financial services and cars each featuring 14.
By advertising duration, however, toilet and floor cleaners led individual categories with an 8% share of celebrity-endorsed commercials. Toilet soaps followed at 7%, ahead of aerated soft drinks at 6%. E-commerce services and biscuits each accounted for 4%.
The figures illustrate how celebrity endorsement strategies vary across industries, with some categories engaging a broader pool of personalities and others concentrating greater advertising airtime around their campaigns.
Celebrity couples remain a significant advertising category
The research also examined television campaigns featuring celebrity couples, with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt leading the category.
The pair accounted for 19% of celebrity-couple advertising and were associated with 37 brands.
Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, along with Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, each accounted for an 11% share.
Together with Ajay Devgn and Kajol, the four leading couples represented half of all celebrity-couple-endorsed advertising.
The findings add another dimension to a television endorsement market in which advertisers continue to use different combinations of celebrity appeal, brand reach and audience recognition.
The study covers television commercials aired during January–September 2025 and 2026. It includes Hindi film and television celebrities and sports personalities, but excludes South Indian film and television stars, programme promotions and social advertisements.
