India TV ad volumes fell 7% in Jan–Jul, while e-commerce ads surged 10.2x

India’s TV ad volumes declined 7% year-on-year in January–July, according to TAM AdEx. E-commerce advertising rose nearly 10.2 times and biscuits nearly 2.1 times, while Reckitt India, HUL and Godrej Consumer Products led advertisers by TV ad volume.

— Source published Fri, 21 Aug, 2026, 16:18 IST · First seen Fri, 21 Aug, 2026, 16:22 IST · Source BL · Consumer & Economy

What happened

TAM AdEx · India’s TV advertising volumes declined 7% in January-July 2026, though e-commerce advertising surged nearly 10.2 times and biscuit advertising rose

Key facts

  • TV ad volumes fell 7% in January-July 2026 year-on-year
  • TV ad volumes fell 9% in January-July 2025 versus January-July 2024
  • Top 10 advertisers accounted for 43% of ad volumes
  • Top 10 categories accounted for 33% of ad volumes
  • Food and beverage held 23% of overall ad volumes
  • General Entertainment Channels held 30% of ad volumes
  • News channels held 25% of ad volumes
  • E-commerce ad volumes rose nearly 10.2 times
  • Biscuits ad volumes rose nearly 2.1 times
  • 150 categories recorded higher ad volumes

Why this matters

Prioritize acquisitions or partnerships in retail-media, commerce advertising and cross-screen measurement to capture brand budgets migrating beyond linear TV.

What to watch

  • Monthly TAM AdEx TV volume trend, especially whether the decline persists through the festive season.
  • E-commerce category share of TV, digital video and retail-media advertising spend.
  • TV ad-rate movement versus ad-volume movement; rising rates with falling volumes would indicate inventory discipline rather than demand collapse.
  • Festival-period spending by HUL, Reckitt, Godrej Consumer Products, biscuit brands and other large FMCG advertisers.
  • Growth in quick-commerce, CTV and retail-media inventory, along with changes in marketplace advertising CPCs and ROAS.
  • Broadcaster quarterly ad revenue, yield, fill rates and digital revenue mix.
  • Rebalance media plans from broad TV GRPs toward measurable digital video, retail media and marketplace advertising while retaining TV for high-reach launch windows.
  • Build e-commerce-specific creative, search and conversion measurement capabilities; treat marketplace ad spend as a trade-investment line rather than only a brand-media expense.
  • FMCG brands should use TV selectively for festive demand creation, then retarget exposed audiences through commerce platforms and quick-commerce apps.
  • Broadcasters should package TV reach with CTV, digital video, audience data and commerce attribution to defend advertiser budgets.
  • Monitor whether e-commerce ad expansion is driven by a few platforms; diversify partnerships to reduce dependence on a single marketplace's auction economics.