India’s Connected TV market projected to reach 120 million households by 2027

India’s rapid transition to CTV signals a permanent shift from handset-centric viewing to household-based performance marketing. As retail media and IoT-linked devices converge on the living room screen, the dominance of big tech duopolies in the SME ad space faces a direct challenge from automated content recognition (ACR) and full-funnel attribution tools. This transformation forces a convergence between traditional broadcasters, OEMs, and retail giants, mirroring Western market consolidation. Watch for a rise in cross-platform retail data integrations as Indian e-commerce leaders attempt to replicate the Walmart-Vizio closed-loop attribution model.

The expansion of India’s CTV landscape aligns with record-breaking growth in digital video consumption. Per a Comscore report from late 2024, YouTube consumption on Indian CTV devices skyrocketed from 15 billion to 35 billion hours over a 24-month period. This surge is reflected in advertiser priorities; industry estimates from Economic Times in August 2025 projected that CTV would account for 35% of all TV ad budgets by 2026. This trajectory is supported by the availability of smart TVs priced under ₹10,000, which has democratized premium screen access beyond metro hubs and into small towns.

Globally, the intersection of retail and hardware continues to set the strategic pace for the Indian market. Per a December 2024 announcement, Walmart finalized its $2.3 billion acquisition of Vizio to fold the OEM’s SmartCast OS into its Walmart Connect retail media business. Analysts at eMarketer noted that this move focuses on higher-margin advertising and first-party data collection rather than hardware sales alone. Simultaneously, YouTube is increasingly categorized as a primary entertainment network rather than social media; Nielsen data from early 2025 confirmed YouTube maintained a dominant 11.1% share of total U.S. TV viewing, consistently outperforming traditional streamers like Netflix.