What is the difference between programmatic and direct CTV buying?
Direct buying means an advertiser or agency negotiates an insertion order (IO) directly with the CTV publisher — agreeing on fixed CPM, volume, placement, and dates. Programmatic buying means the advertiser uses a DSP (DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP) to bid for CTV inventory in real time through an SSP, or via a pre-negotiated programmatic deal (PMP or PG). The core trade-off: direct deals offer inventory guarantees and editorial adjacency control; programmatic offers flexibility, audience targeting, and cross-publisher reach management from one interface.
When should I buy India CTV directly vs programmatically?
Buy directly when: you need a guaranteed share of voice on a specific event (IPL match, OTT premiere), the publisher’s premium inventory is not available programmatically, or you need custom integration (branded content, home screen takeover). Buy programmatically when: you want to optimise spend across multiple publishers, use first-party audience data, control frequency across publishers, or need impression-level reporting. Most India CTV campaigns use both: direct IO for flagship inventory on JioHotstar or Sony LIV, plus programmatic for scale and frequency management on second-tier publishers.
Are CPMs higher for direct or programmatic India CTV buys?
Direct CPMs for premium India CTV inventory (JioHotstar live cricket, Sony LIV originals) range from ₹300–700 per thousand. Programmatic open auction CPMs for the same publishers’ non-premium supply range from ₹80–200. Programmatic guaranteed (PG) deals — where inventory is reserved but bought via a DSP — sit between the two at ₹200–400, offering the targeting and reporting of programmatic with the inventory guarantee of direct. The cheapest programmatic CTV inventory (remnant open auction across smaller apps) trades at ₹40–80 CPM, but quality and viewability vary significantly.