What is Vi (Vodafone Idea) CTV and what does it offer advertisers?

Vi (Vodafone Idea) operates Vi Movies and TV, a streaming app available on Android, iOS, and select smart TVs that bundles live TV channels with on-demand content for Vi prepaid and postpaid subscribers. On the CTV side, Vi Movies and TV is available as a smart TV app on Samsung, LG, and Android TV devices. Vi’s CTV product is significantly smaller than JioHotstar or Airtel Xstream in terms of premium content and advertising infrastructure — Vi’s financial difficulties (it was seeking restructuring and government support through 2025) have constrained investment in content and technology. Vi CTV advertising is available through Vi’s direct ad sales team and through limited programmatic access.

Vi’s advertising proposition is built around its telco data: the company has subscriber data for approximately 200–220 million mobile users, including location, ARPU (average revenue per user) as a proxy for income, device type, and data usage patterns. For CTV specifically, Vi can target ads on its streaming app against these telco signals — geographic targeting by circle (telecom region), device type, and basic demographic proxies from subscriber data. The scale of Vi’s CTV-specific inventory is limited; most Vi advertising is mobile-first. For India CTV campaigns, Vi is a supplementary channel rather than a primary buy — relevant for advertisers wanting to reach Vi subscribers specifically or extend geographic reach into markets where Vi has stronger share (certain states in North and East India).

Comparison on three dimensions: (1) Content depth — JioHotstar has the strongest content library (IPL, international sports, Disney+, originals); Airtel Xstream aggregates third-party content rather than producing originals; Vi Movies and TV is content-thin, primarily live TV and syndicated content. (2) CTV reach — JioHotstar leads with 60–70 million CTV monthly viewers; Airtel Xstream has 10–15 million; Vi CTV is estimated at 3–5 million. (3) Advertising capability — JioHotstar has the most developed programmatic and direct-buy infrastructure; Airtel Xstream offers direct buy with telco data targeting; Vi has direct buy only, limited self-serve options. For a broad India CTV campaign, Vi is a third-tier buy used after JioHotstar, Sony LIV, and Zee5 have been allocated.