Television ad volumes declined 7% in January-July 2026, with Reckitt India, Hindustan Unilever and Godrej Consumer Products emerging as the top advertisers, TAM AdEx said.
Television ad volumes dipped by 7 per cent in the January-July period this year compared with the same period last year, according to estimates released by TAM AdEx. This indicated a phase of strategic recalibration in advertiser spending. Reckitt India, Hindustan Unilever, and Godrej Consumer Products emerged as the top three advertisers on TV by ad volume.The top ten advertisers included Mondelez India, Coca-Cola India, Nestle India, P&G India, Wipro Enterprises, Britannia Industries and Google. The top ten players accounted for 43 per cent of ad volumes during the January-July period.“There was 9 per cent drop in January-July’25 over January-July ‘24, which shows that there was modest correction in ad volumes of January -July’ 26,” the report noted.Consumer categories dominate TV advertisingSoaps, floor and toilet cleaners, e-commerce (entertainment, social media, and media), chocolates, and toothpastes emerged as the top five most advertised categories during this period.Washing powders and liquids, biscuits, milk beverages, aerated soft drinks and jewellery retail outlets were among the top ten categories during the first half of the year. “ The top ten categories together added 33 per cent share of ad volumes in January-July’26 period. Biscuits was the new entrant among the top ten categories during this period,” it added.Food and beverage leads sectoral ad volumesOverall, food & beverage emerged as the top sector, with a 23 per cent share of overall ad volumes during this period, followed by services and personal care & hygiene.General Entertainment Channels continued to lead with a 30 per cent share of ad volumes, followed by new channels at 25 per cent.E-commerce records sharpest increaseIn fact, 150 categories witnessed an increase in ad volumes. The e-commerce category saw the highest increase in ad spend, at almost 10.2 times, in the January-July period this year over the same period last year. Biscuits ad volumes were also up nearly 2.1 times, the report noted.Published on August 21, 2026
