Negotiating a CTV deal with an India publisher involves more variables than digital display — the key levers are CPM, impression volume commitment, content placement (sports vs. entertainment vs. ROS), ad pod position (first in pod vs. any), frequency cap, creative length flexibility, and measurement/reporting terms. Start the negotiation with a clear brief: campaign objective (awareness vs. reach vs. performance), budget range, audience target, and flight dates. Publishers respond better to specific briefs than open-ended enquiries.
What is typically negotiable in India CTV: (1) CPM — list rates are starting points. For budgets above INR 30 lakh, expect 10-25% discount from list rate. IPL and major sports inventory is least flexible on price; general entertainment is more negotiable; (2) Frequency cap — publishers will usually agree to a household-level frequency cap (e.g., 3 per week) as part of deal terms; (3) Third-party measurement — increasingly publishers agree to IAS or DoubleVerify post-campaign verification; push for this in the IO terms; (4) Make-good clauses — if the publisher under-delivers committed impressions, what is the make-good process? Get this in writing. What is not typically negotiable: specific content title placement (you can request genre targeting but not usually guarantee placement against a specific show), real-time campaign access to the publisher's ad server, and pricing during live IPL matches (these go by their own rate card).
Full guide
For a complete explanation, read: How to negotiate a CTV deal in India: what to ask for, what is flexible, and what to get in writing