India CTV CPMs have risen directionally over the 2023–2026 period, though not in a straight line and not uniformly across all inventory types. In 2022–2023, India CTV was a fragmented market with limited measurement, abundant supply relative to committed advertiser demand, and CPMs that were often treated as a rounding error on digital video budgets. Open auction CPMs were very low; even direct deal rates were modest by global standards. The market was growing in reach but not yet in pricing power.
The 2023–2024 period marked an inflection. The JioHotstar merger (consolidating JioCinema and Hotstar) created India's largest CTV publisher with genuine pricing power. IPL streaming on JioCinema in 2023 drew record concurrent viewers and established that premium live CTV inventory could command premium prices. This set a new market anchor. By 2024–2026, the trend has continued: agencies are building dedicated CTV plans rather than treating CTV as digital video overflow; programmatic CTV infrastructure has matured; and ad-tier launches have brought engaged audiences who are accustomed to advertising—all of which has increased demand for quality inventory and pushed CPMs upward.
What the trend means for planners in 2026
- Premium direct deal CPMs on JioHotstar and SonyLIV are materially higher than they were in 2022; plan for continued upward movement on premium inventory
- Open auction CPMs have also risen but remain significantly below direct deal rates—the gap between tiers persists
- Measurement improvement is the next catalyst: as third-party verification and cross-platform deduplication mature, advertisers will gain confidence to pay more for verified CTV impressions
- India CPMs will remain below US and European benchmarks for the foreseeable future—the structural gap (lower ad GDP per capita, price anchoring from linear TV) closes slowly
Full guide
For a complete explanation, read: India CTV CPM trends 2023–2026: how rates have moved and where they are heading