PMAR 2026: India Becomes a 60% Digital Advertising Market as Traditional Media Shrinks: The much-awaited Pitch Madison Advertising Report (PMAR) 2026 was unveiled on February 24 in Mumbai at The Taj Santacruz. The gala brought together leading voices from India’s media, advertising and marketing industry.
The report was unveiled by senior industry leaders and veterans. Alongside the launch, prominent industry voices and experts shared their perspectives on market trends, emerging opportunities and broader economic factors expected to influence advertising investments in the coming year.
Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints, addressed the pressing question: “What Advertisers Expect from Media Owners in Tough Times?” highlighting accountability, transparency and measurable outcomes.
Adding strategic depth to the agenda, Shivam Puri, Managing Director and CEO of Cipla Health Ltd, presented “5 Decisions You Must Make Before 2027,” outlining critical choices brands must prioritise while navigating economic uncertainty and market transformation.
The conference positioned itself as a key platform for dialogue, offering actionable insights into both the opportunities and the structural challenges facing India’s advertising and media ecosystem.
The numbers, revealed by Madison World in a strategic discussion between Sam Balsara and Girish Prabhu, point to a deeper structural shift in how India allocates advertising capital.
PMAR 2026 is not just another annual industry review. It marks a defining inflection point in India’s media economy: the country is now officially a majority-digital advertising market.
India Crosses the Digital Majority Mark
In 2025, total advertising expenditure (ADEX) grew 7% under the legacy definition to ₹1,15,291 crore, and 12% under the expanded definition to ₹1,55,105 crore.
However, beneath the steady topline growth lies a fundamental restructuring — Traditional media declined in absolute terms, while Digital absorbed more than 100% of net market growth.
Under the legacy definition:
- Digital grew 18% to ₹53,342 crore
- Digital share rose from 42% to 46%
- Traditional media declined by ₹739 crore
Under the expanded definition (including Quick Commerce and MSME Digital spends):
- Total Digital ADEX: ₹93,156 crore
- Digital Share: 60%
- Traditional Share: 40%
India crossed the Digital majority threshold in 2024 and consolidated it in 2025.
Quick Commerce and MSMEs Power the Surge
One of the biggest structural shifts comes from Quick Commerce advertising.
Q-Comm ad spends surged to ₹4,000 crore in 2025, driven by platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart.
Simultaneously, MSME Digital advertising reached ₹35,814 crore, accounting for nearly 38% of total Digital ADEX.
This emerging advertiser base now rivals Print and approaches Linear TV in scale — a profound redistribution of market power.
Television Declines, Large Screen Evolves
Linear TV ADEX fell 5% to ₹32,855 crore, with ad volumes declining 10%. Nearly 500 advertisers exited TV in 2025.
Yet Connected TV (CTV) nearly doubled to ₹6,000 crore. When combined, Large Screen advertising (Linear TV + CTV) reached ₹38,855 crore.
Advertisers are not abandoning screens — they are reallocating towards measurable, performance-linked environments.
TV is no longer the default mass medium. It has become a premium impact layer.
Category Shifts Redefine Allocation
FMCG reduced ₹779 crore from Traditional media, reallocating budgets to Sports, Retail Media and Digital performance ecosystems.
Meanwhile, Ecommerce and Quick Commerce together contributed ₹14,257 crore, adding nearly ₹4,864 crore in a single year — more than offsetting TV’s decline.
The Indian ad market is moving from expansion to optimisation.
Top Advertisers Already Digital-Dominant
India’s top advertisers are ahead of the curve.
The Top 50 advertisers contributed approximately ₹40,000 crore in ADEX:
- 58% allocated to Digital
- 32% allocated to TV
The Top 10 advertisers are even more Digital-heavy at 61%.
Leading spenders influencing this shift include:
- Hindustan Unilever
- Procter & Gamble
- Coca Cola India Ltd
- Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
- Amazon Online India Pvt Ltd
Digital is now the planning backbone for India’s largest marketers.
Global Context: India Narrowing the Gap
According to WARC, Digital accounts for 79% of global advertising spend.
India’s expanded 60% Digital share narrows the perceived global gap and reflects rapid ecosystem maturity.
While India contributes around 1% to global ADEX, it remains among the fastest-growing large advertising markets worldwide.
2026 Forecast: Digital to Reach 64%
PMAR 2026 projects total ADEX to grow to ₹1,74,605 crore in 2026.
Forecast highlights:
- Core Digital growth: 18%
- Quick Commerce growth: 50%
- MSME Digital growth: 20%
- Digital Share expected to reach 64%
Traditional media is projected to grow marginally at around 1%.
A Market Entering Its Discipline Phase
The central question for 2026 is no longer:
“How much should we spend?”
It is:
“Where does each rupee create measurable competitive advantage?”
PMAR 2026 confirms that Digital is no longer a channel. It is the operating system of India’s advertising economy.
Traditional media will continue to play a role — but only where it delivers defined, measurable outcomes within a digitally anchored system.
India’s advertising transformation is no longer emerging. It is complete.
