Ahead of the IPL 2026 final, YouTube has launched a high-profile print campaign positioning itself as a stronger platform for sports advertising than both television and OTT services.
The campaign, which appeared on the front page of The Economic Times, urges marketers to “own the fandom on YouTube” and highlights the platform's reach among sports audiences. According to the advertisement, 67% of Indians watch sports content on YouTube, compared to 48% on OTT platforms. The company also claims that advertising on YouTube delivers three times the return on investment of OTT platforms and 2.4 times that of television in India.
The timing of the campaign coincides with the IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, a period when brands are actively evaluating the effectiveness of their sports marketing investments. The messaging comes amid changing audience behaviour, with creator-led sports content, highlights, analysis, and second-screen viewing increasingly extending beyond live broadcasts.
YouTube's push also arrives as traditional sports broadcasters face challenges around audience growth and advertising efficiency. Recent BARC India data showed declines in IPL television viewership during the first half of the season, while industry conversations have increasingly focused on measuring returns from sports advertising.
Despite positioning YouTube against television and OTT platforms, Google remained one of the largest advertisers during IPL 2026. According to TAM Sports, Google topped advertiser rankings across both connected TV and linear television during the tournament. The company also expanded its cricket marketing presence through Gemini, which reportedly signed a three-year IPL sponsorship agreement.
The campaign follows YouTube's recent rollout of a unique reach metric for connected TVs, designed to estimate co-viewing and provide advertisers with audience measurements that more closely resemble traditional television ratings.
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