What is Connected TV and how is it different from regular TV?
The clearest definition of Connected TV — what qualifies, what doesn't, and why the distinction matters for advertisers and publishers in India.
CTV Basics — Frequently Asked Questions
What is CTV? How is it different from OTT? What's the difference between AVOD, SVOD, and FAST? India platform questions, device differences, and the ad supply chain — answered without hedging.
The clearest definition of Connected TV — what qualifies, what doesn't, and why the distinction matters for advertisers and publishers in India.
OTT is the content delivery method. CTV is the device category. The two terms are often used interchangeably — here's why that's wrong and what each actually means.
Three monetisation models, three different relationships with the audience. AVOD runs ads. SVOD charges a subscription. FAST is free, ad-supported, and channel-based. India context included.
Six structural factors — affordable smart TVs, JioFiber, Jio 4G/5G, OTT bundling, IPL, and post-COVID habits — explain how India grew from 30M to 75M connected TV households since 2020.
JioHotstar, SonyLIV, Zee5, YouTube on TV, Samsung TV Plus — which of these are CTV, which are OTT, and which are both. Clear definitions for planners and buyers.
A map of every player in the CTV ecosystem — publishers, SSPs, DSPs, ad servers, measurement companies, and device OS platforms — and how they connect.
From advertiser to impression — every step in the CTV ad supply chain, who touches the money, where fees are taken, and what India-specific friction points exist.
Android TV smart TVs dominate India. Fire TV Stick is a distant second. Google TV is growing. This is what the device split looks like and what it means for ad delivery.
Both are CTV devices. Smart TVs have the OS built in. Streaming sticks plug into any HDMI port. For advertisers and publishers, the OS matters more than the form factor.
Android TV and Google TV are both from Google but have different UIs, app behaviours, and ad delivery implications. What advertisers and publishers need to know for India.
Amazon Fire TV runs FireOS, not Android TV. It has its own ad platform. Reach is smaller in India than smart TVs but audience quality is strong. Here's what to know.
India CTV runs on six OS types. Android TV, Fire OS, Tizen, webOS, and OEM proprietary each have different IFA types, VAST reliability, and targeting. About 15–25% of impressions have no resolvable device ID.
India's FAST inventory lives inside JioHotstar, Zee5, and SonyLIV free tiers, plus Samsung TV Plus. Which platforms, what content, and what it means for advertisers.
YouTube on a TV screen counts as CTV. YouTube on mobile does not. Google buys it as CTV inventory through DV360. But it's walled off from the open programmatic ecosystem.
CTV CPMs run higher than linear TV GRPs on a like-for-like audience basis. But the targeting precision changes the efficiency equation. The full comparison with India benchmarks.
A CTV ad pod is a group of ads served back-to-back in a single break. How many slots, what position value, and how India publishers structure breaks on JioHotstar, SonyLIV, and Zee5.
AVOD explained, which India platforms are AVOD, and how it differs from FAST.
JioHotstar inventory types, buying routes, programmatic access, and IPL CPMs.
India CTV CPM ranges by platform, format, and buying route. What to expect when planning.
India connected TV universe, typical campaign reach, and how CTV reach is measured.
IVT types, verification vendors, app spoofing risk, and app-ads.txt enforcement on India CTV.
A CTV ad server delivers ads to streaming TV screens. SSAI stitches the ad into the stream server-side for seamless playback. Key for India CTV buyers.
Frequency capping in CTV limits how many times the same viewer sees the same ad. How it works in India CTV, why it is harder than on mobile, and how to set it correctly.
Programmatic CTV buying uses real-time auctions via DSPs and SSPs. Direct buying is an IO deal with the publisher. Key differences in price, control, and measurement for India CTV.
A DSP lets buyers bid on CTV inventory programmatically. An SSP lets publishers sell it. How they connect and what matters for India CTV buyers and publishers.
India CTV viewers are urban, SEC A/B households with 2-4x co-viewing rates. Sports-heavy, 25-54 core demographic. Key planning facts.
India has 40-60 million connected TV households and 80-120 million monthly CTV viewers. Ad spend growing 25-35% annually. What the numbers mean for planners.
India CTV is dominated by walled gardens, co-viewing, free AVOD, and measurement gaps. How India
IPL drives India
Reach Tamil, Telugu, and regional CTV audiences via Sun NXT, Aha, and YouTube. Lower CPMs, less competition, but limited programmatic access. Planning guide.
A CTV impression is counted when a video ad begins playing on a connected TV screen. How India CTV platforms count impressions, and why counts differ across ad servers.
CTV addressability explained — what it means to serve different ads to different households, how device IDs enable it, and the limits of addressability in India CTV campaigns.
CTV inventory is the pool of ad break slots available on connected TV apps. How India CTV inventory is structured, priced, and bought programmatically or directly.
Reach in CTV is the number of unique households or viewers exposed to an ad. How India CTV platforms measure and report reach, and what deduplicated reach means.
India CTV targeting options: demographic, content genre, geography, device type, first-party data, and behavioural targeting. What works, what is limited, and why.
Want the full picture?
Each FAQ links to its companion KB article.
These answers are the quick version. The Knowledge Base has 1,500–2,000 word deep-dives with India data, examples, and practitioner context.
Go to CTV Basics Knowledge Base →