A floor price is the minimum CPM a publisher will accept for an impression in the programmatic auction — any bid below the floor is rejected. Publishers set floors to protect their direct sales rates (if programmatic cleared at INR 80 CPM, direct sales teams could not justify INR 300 CPM to buyers) and to ensure programmatic inventory yields an acceptable return. Floor prices are typically set by: content tier (sports/live events floor higher than catch-up content), audience segment (verified premium demographics floor higher than ROS), deal type (open auction floor lower than PMP floor), and device type (CTV floors higher than mobile for the same publisher).
For India CTV in 2026, indicative floor price ranges: open auction CTV inventory INR 80-150 CPM, PMP deals on general entertainment INR 200-350 CPM, PMP on sports content INR 350-600 CPM, live IPL premium packages INR 600-1200 CPM. Publishers use dynamic floor pricing — adjusting floors in real time based on auction demand — to maximise yield without leaving money on the table. As a buyer, understanding floor pricing helps you plan budgets and avoid winning impressions at inflated clearing prices. If you consistently lose bids in a PMP deal at a floor you cannot justify, it is worth renegotiating the floor with the publisher rather than simply bidding higher, since CTV PMPs often have room for commercial discussion.
Full guide
For a complete explanation, read: Floor pricing for CTV programmatic inventory: how publishers set floors and what buyers should know