Television advertising volumes in India declined 11% year-on-year in 2025, marking a phase of strategic recalibration after several years of sustained expansion, according to the TAM AdEx – 2025 Television Advertising Recap.
Measured in secondages, ad volumes softened sharply in the second half of the year despite short-lived tactical spikes during select quarters. The report noted that while the April–June quarter recorded a 6% increase over Q1, momentum weakened thereafter, with volumes in Q4 falling 10% compared with the preceding quarter.
Industry analysts said the trend reflects advertisers reassessing budget allocation across traditional and digital platforms rather than a structural erosion of television’s relevance.
FMCG Continues to Anchor Television Advertising
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies remained the dominant force on television, even as overall volumes contracted.
Food and beverages emerged as the largest advertising sector, contributing 21% of total TV ad volumes, followed by personal care and personal hygiene at 15% and services at 14%.
Household products and personal healthcare completed the top five sectors, reinforcing television’s role as a high-reach platform for mass consumption categories. Together, the top 10 sectors accounted for 87% of total ad volumes, underlining a heavy concentration of spend among scale-driven industries.
Hygiene Categories Dominate at the Product Level
At the category level, toilet soaps and toilet/floor cleaners led television advertising, each securing a 6% share of total volumes. Washing powders and liquids followed with a 4% share.
Hygiene-focused categories retained their leadership from 2024, indicating continued consumer demand and sustained brand competition in everyday essentials.
Retail jewellery outlets also emerged as a notable mover, climbing from 16th position in 2024 to ninth in 2025, signalling renewed advertising aggression from the jewellery retail segment.
Growth Segments Emerge Despite Overall Slowdown
Even as headline volumes declined, more than 170 advertising categories posted positive growth during the year.
Toilet and floor cleaners recorded the highest absolute increase in ad volumes at 13%, while vocational training institutes registered the fastest growth rate, expanding 2.5 times year-on-year.
Other fast-growing segments included e-commerce financial services, branded jewellery, online matrimonial services and aerated soft drinks—categories that typically rely on trust-building and high visibility, where television continues to deliver impact.
HUL Tops Advertiser Rankings; Reckitt Dominates Brands
Hindustan Unilever retained its position as the country’s largest television advertiser, contributing 14% of total ad volumes in 2025. Reckitt Benckiser (India) and the Godrej Group followed in the rankings.
FMCG companies dominated the advertiser leaderboard, with the top 10 advertisers together accounting for 44% of total television ad volumes.
At the brand level, Dettol Toilet Soaps emerged as the most advertised brand of the year, followed by Harpic Power Plus variants and Dettol Antiseptic Liquid. Seven of the top 10 brands belonged to Reckitt Benckiser, highlighting the company’s aggressive multi-brand television deployment strategy.
GECs and News Channels Capture Majority of Ad Inventory
General entertainment channels (GECs) continued to command the largest share of advertising volumes at 30%, with news channels close behind at 26%. Movie channels accounted for a further 22%.
The top five genres together contributed over 92% of total television advertising volumes, mirroring the high genre concentration observed in 2024.
Movie Co-Branding Scales Up as a Marketing Tool
Co-branded advertising with films gained significant traction in 2025, with brands clocking more than 570 hours of movie-linked campaigns across nearly 60 film titles.
Comfort Fabric Conditioner led the co-branding charts, while associations with Pushpa 2 alone contributed 23% of total co-branded advertising volumes.
The data suggests that film-based integrations are evolving into a scalable, repeatable branding strategy rather than remaining limited to isolated promotional tie-ups.
A Strategic Reset for Television Advertising
The TAM AdEx report characterises 2025 as a year of optimisation rather than decline for television advertising.
While volumes moderated, brands continued to rely on TV for mass reach, category leadership and high-impact brand building—albeit with sharper planning and selective deployment.
As advertisers increasingly balance investments across digital, connected TV and traditional platforms, television appears to be transitioning from an always-on medium to a precision-driven channel, anchored by high-reach genres and established consumption categories.
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