Potential IPL Shift to September-October Could Transform Ad Landscape

India’s advertising calendar may be heading for a structural rethink if the Indian Premier League eventually shifts from its traditional March-May window to September-October.

The possibility is still exploratory, not confirmed. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal recently indicated that the BCCI could consider moving the tournament from its March-May window to September-October in the future, citing factors such as extreme summer heat, player fatigue, future scheduling pressures and possible expansion of the league. He also said the idea could be revisited depending on “commercial and operational” considerations.

But even as a scenario, it has triggered concern across the media and advertising ecosystem. Industry estimates suggest IPL commands roughly one-third of India’s annual advertising expenditure, while the festive season accounts for nearly 40-50% of yearly spends. If both converge, nearly 70-80% of annual AdEx could get concentrated in a compressed three-four-month window completely altering the rhythm of annual and quarterly campaign planning, media buying, creative production and budget phasing.

At present, IPL gives advertisers a high-decibel summer tentpole, while festive advertising builds separately around FMCG, consumer durables, auto, e-commerce, fashion, jewellery, smartphones, paints and financial services. If the two windows move closer, that separation could narrow sharply.

“IPL will gobble up all the budgets if shifted to Sep-Oct,” quips veteran adman Dr Sandeep Goyal, MD of Rediffusion. Dr Goyal adds, “For the IPL, it will get a natural boost since festival budgets are far more abundant than at the beginning of the new fiscal - but summer specific budgets like fans, ACs, drinks may be lost.”

The result may not be a simple expansion in total advertising outlay. Large national brands may still find room to participate across both IPL and festive campaigns. But mid-sized advertisers could be forced into reallocation. Money that would otherwise go into festive-led GEC campaigns, print jackets, outdoor bursts, radio, influencer marketing or digital video may move towards IPL-led visibility.

According to Anil Solanki, Media Lead, dentsuX, “It will significantly intensify competition for advertising budgets. While some categories may expand spends to capitalise on the combined festive and cricket momentum, many brands are more likely to reallocate budgets from GECs, print, and digital into IPL due to its unmatched scale and engagement.”

The concern is sharper because IPL is not just another sporting property. It is one of India’s biggest advertising marketplaces, offering mass reach, appointment viewing, premium inventory and high consumer engagement across linear television, digital streaming and connected TV. Any movement in its calendar can affect media rates, sponsorship calendars, agency workloads and category-level campaign planning.

A shifted IPL could also change how brands phase spending through the year. Instead of spreading campaigns across summer, monsoon, festive and year-end windows, marketers may front-load or bunch up spends into one high-consumption period. That could create a short-term surge for media owners, but also leave the rest of the year weaker.

Categories with seasonal peaks could be most exposed. Consumer durables, electronics, automobiles, paints, jewellery, fashion, e-commerce and food delivery already treat the festive period as a key revenue trigger. If IPL enters the same window, brands may have to decide whether cricket becomes the central festive vehicle or whether festive campaigns retain a separate identity outside sports.

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Better monetisation or more clutter?

A pre-festive IPL could unlock stronger consumer sentiment, higher purchase intent and better monetisation for broadcasters, franchises and platforms. But it could also raise clutter, inflate rates and make differentiation harder.

Tarun Nigam, media and entertainment consultant who has worked with WPP and Publicis earlier, shares, “IPL and festive spending have historically been two distinct peaks in the Indian advertising calendar. Over the years, clients, agencies and media owners have built planning cycles around these separate demand spikes. If IPL and festivals now converge, it may actually simplify planning for many marketers rather than disrupt it completely.”

For large advertisers, the overlap could bring back a more traditional “festival-first” planning approach, where high-intent consumption periods are consolidated into one larger impact window. In that sense, the convergence may create planning efficiency rather than chaos, he noted.

However, according to him, the move may not automatically expand industry ad spends. “The market is already operating under pressure across categories, and in such an environment, the more likely outcome could be reallocation rather than incremental expansion. Some budgets may move faster towards IPL because of its scale and certainty, but expecting a significant increase in total category spends may be optimistic in the short term,” he shared.

Non-sports media may struggle

For non-sports media, the pressure could be immediate. GECs, movie channels, print, radio and non-sports digital video traditionally depend on festive advertising to command premium rates and launch big-ticket properties.

GECs could be especially vulnerable as advertisers seeking mass reach may prioritise cricket over fiction shows, reality formats or movie premieres. IPL is no longer just a television property. It is a multi-platform advertising product across linear TV, streaming, CTV, social amplification and branded content, making it attractive to brands seeking both reach and sharper targeting.

"Large brands may prioritise IPL-led reach for efficiency, forcing GECs and other media to become more tactical, differentiated, and value-driven in both pricing and content strategy", Solanki explains.

“More than the budgets, it will eat away all viewership, leaving GECs and other genres starved,” Dr Goyal points out.

Print and radio may also feel the pressure, though differently. Print remains important for festive retail, jewellery, real estate, auto and local-market advertising, while radio offers city-level tactical reach. But both could face tougher negotiations if advertisers reserve a larger share of festive budgets for IPL sponsorships, digital cricket packages, CTV buys and impact properties.

Still, non-sports media is unlikely to be pushed out completely. “Festive advertising remains tied to shopping triggers, regional markets, household decision-making and category-specific storytelling. GECs can offer family reach, print can deliver local impact, and radio can support retail footfalls”, Nigam explains.