India TV ad volumes fall 7% as FMCG brands shift budgets to digital
TV advertising volumes declined 7% year-on-year in January-July 2026, extending a 9% fall in the prior-year period. FMCG remained the largest TV advertiser category, led by Reckitt Benckiser India, HUL and Godrej Consumer Products, as brands increased spending on digital and point-of-sale media.
What happened
Reckitt Benckiser (India) · India TV ad volumes fell 7% in January-July as consumer brands shifted budgets toward digital and point-of-sale media. FMCG remained
Key facts
- TV advertising volumes declined 7% in January-July 2026 year-on-year
- TV ad volumes fell 9% in January-July 2025
- Linear TV ad revenue fell 10.3% in 2025
- TV ad volumes fell 11.5% in 2025
- TV advertisers declined 3% to 7,275 in 2025
- Food and beverages accounted for 23% of TV ad volumes
- Reckitt Benckiser (India), HUL and Godrej Consumer Products led advertiser rankings
- Zee Q1 ad revenue fell 11% to ₹671 crore
- Sun TV Q1 ad revenue fell 2.6% to ₹282.5 crore
Why this matters
Media, retail-tech and consumer companies should prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in digital performance marketing and retail-media capabilities as FMCG spend migrates from linear TV.
What to watch
- Festive-quarter TV ad-volume and effective-rate trends versus January-July performance
- FMCG digital-spend growth, especially on quick-commerce, marketplaces, retail media and connected TV
- Share of FMCG advertising attributable to HUL, Reckitt Benckiser India and Godrej Consumer Products
- Broadcaster quarterly ad revenue, inventory fill rates, yield and digital-streaming revenue growth
- Major cricket, entertainment and election-related ad demand that could temporarily tighten premium TV inventory
- Evidence that digital campaigns are delivering measurable incremental sales rather than merely shifting attribution
- Growth in in-store display, retailer promotions, sampling and trade-spend as point-of-sale budgets expand
- Increase retail-media and quick-commerce ad budgets around high-frequency FMCG categories, using closed-loop sales measurement to win brand spend displaced from TV.
- Build integrated launch plans that use TV selectively for reach, then retarget exposed audiences through digital video, marketplaces, quick-commerce and store-level activations.
- Broadcasters should package linear TV with streaming, creator integrations and commerce measurement rather than defend standalone spot inventory.
- FMCG marketers should shift agency KPIs from gross rating points toward incremental reach, category conversion, repeat purchase and regional sales lift.
- Modern trade, chemists and kirana-facing distributors may gain greater importance as brands fund point-of-sale visibility, sampling and retailer incentives.