India’s CTV Moment Has Arrived. Now the Hard Work Begins

Why It Matters

Without unified ownership and transparent measurement, advertisers risk wasting premium budgets and CTV’s momentum could stall, limiting its potential as a high‑impact, performance‑driven channel in India’s fast‑growing media mix.

Key Takeaways

• Indian CTV spend rose 56% YoY, 81% see performance gains
• Over half of CTV viewers now in Tier‑2/3 towns under 1M
• 34% of CTV ads run outside streaming content, costing $4B annually
• 74% of Indian marketers require show‑level transparency to justify spend
• Fragmented ownership leads to parallel buying paths and inconsistent metrics

Pulse Analysis

India’s CTV boom reflects a broader digital shift, with households in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities now accounting for more than half of connected‑TV viewership. The surge is underpinned by a 56% year‑over‑year rise in ad spend and strong performance metrics, prompting brands to view streaming as a core media pillar rather than a peripheral test. This scale unlocks new reach across regional programming, live sports, and long‑form entertainment, offering advertisers the ability to blend television‑scale storytelling with digital precision.

Despite the upside, the ecosystem suffers from a lack of clear accountability. CTV often falls between traditional TV, digital, and performance teams, resulting in fragmented planning and inconsistent success metrics. The problem is magnified by inventory quality issues: roughly one‑third of CTV video ads appear outside genuine streaming environments, translating to an estimated $4 billion in annual advertiser losses. Brands are increasingly demanding show‑level transparency—74% of Indian marketers now require detailed content context to justify spend—yet data remains siloed within platforms, stifling measurement and eroding confidence in premium pricing.

The path forward hinges on collaboration and standards. Marketers must define internal ownership models that treat CTV as a full‑funnel medium, while advertisers push for granular visibility into programme type, genre, and episode context. Platform operators that adopt robust verification and share data will attract sustained budgets, whereas opaque players risk marginalisation. As the industry aligns around common metrics and quality benchmarks, CTV can evolve from a growth story into a reliable, high‑return engine for India’s advertising landscape.