India reaches 46M CTV households, third-largest globally as hardware scales

The rapid penetration of large-screen smart TVs in India creates a high-intent viewing environment that demands a departure from the 6-second, vertical-first mobile ad standard. For the ecosystem, this hardware shift forces a convergence of traditional high-production television values with digital targeting precision. As the market scales to encompass nearly 50M homes, the competitive edge will shift to brands that invest in CTV-native assets rather than repurposing social media clips. Watch for ad tech companies to introduce more contextual targeting tools to leverage this growing household-level data.

The expansion of India's CTV footprint is part of a broader premiumization trend in the region's consumer electronics sector. Per Counterpoint Research in March 2026, while overall smart TV shipments remained relatively flat in 2025, the market saw a 31% surge in shipments of 65-inch and larger models. This movement toward bigger screens is bolstered by government measures, including a GST rate cut on televisions above 32 inches, and aggressive festive promotions that contributed to a 10% year-on-year shipment growth in Q4 2025.

Ad spend is following the hardware at an accelerated pace. According to Deloitte India and the Motion Picture Association in May 2025, CTV advertising revenue in India tripled between 2022 and 2024, reaching ₹1,500 crore. Industry projections from the Pitch Madison Advertising Report suggest this figure could climb to ₹2,500 crore by the end of 2025, driven by the migration of premium audiences from linear cable to digital streaming.

Strategic consolidation is further concentrating the market's power. Following the $8.5 billion merger of Reliance’s Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India, the resulting entity, JioStar, controls over 100 TV channels and two dominant streaming apps, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Per analysis from Exchange4Media in December 2025, this merger allows for unprecedented vertical integration across content and distribution, potentially capturing 40% of the total TV and OTT advertising market. Meanwhile, Google reported at Brandcast 2025 that YouTube reached over 75 million people on CTV in India in April 2025 alone, emphasizing the platform’s role as a primary competitor to traditional broadcast formats.