A STUDY BY HANSA Research Group tracking audience behaviour during the first six weeks of IPL 2026 has revealed significant shifts in viewership patterns and content consumption.
Over 41% of viewers sampled in the study watched more than seven IPL matches per week, with another 29.78% watching six to seven matches weekly, averaging 6.12 matches per week. Nearly 70% now consume IPL content across both TV and OTT platforms. Exclusive linear TV viewership has dropped from around 27% in earlier seasons to 18.98% in 2026, with dual-screen viewing now the dominant mode of consumption. Around 13.64% of viewers consume IPL through social media highlights and reels, while 8.40% engage via YouTube. “Super Sixes” was the most consumed short-format category at 36.33%, followed by “Moment of the Day” at 33.66% and “Fall of Wicket” clips at 32.99%.
CEAT emerged as the most recalled brand with a score of 59.61, followed by RuPay at 56.45, Amul at 54.99, and TATA AIG at 54.00. Player jerseys were the strongest branding property, recalled by 55.06% of viewers, followed by on-ground branding at 49.48% and boundary rope branding at 47.36%.
RCB emerged as the most supported franchise with a 20.25% share, overtaking CSK at 19.35% and the Mumbai Indians at 17.83%. Rajasthan Royals grew from 5% in 2025 to 7.28% in 2026.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi was the biggest breakout player with 18.56% audience preference, well ahead of Ayush Mhatre at 5.09%, with Noor Ahmad, Priyansh Arya, Sameer Rizvi, Jacob Bethell, and Tristan Stubbs also featuring among emerging names.
Hansa Research Group Quantitative Research – vice president Pramod Pawar said: “The way audiences are interacting with IPL is becoming far more fragmented and continuous than before. Fans today are not just following full matches, but are actively engaging with key moments, highlights, replays, and cricket conversations throughout the day across multiple platforms. This evolution is creating a far more dynamic engagement environment for broadcasters, teams, sponsors, and digital platforms, where audience attention is increasingly distributed across formats, screens, and content moments rather than concentrated only around live television viewing.”
