How do you buy CTV advertising in India step by step?

India CTV campaign planning in five steps: (1) Define the objective — brand awareness (reach and frequency) vs performance (app installs, web conversions). The objective determines DSP configuration, frequency cap, and measurement approach. (2) Select publishers — JioHotstar for maximum reach and premium sports; Zee5/SonyLIV for entertainment and drama; Samsung TV Plus for FAST/linear-format; regional OTT for language-specific audiences. (3) Choose buying route — direct IO for guaranteed placement or sponsorship; PMP deal ID for programmatic with publisher-preferred access; open exchange for reach extension at lower CPM. (4) Define targeting — geography (city/state) as the foundation, then demographics, then content category or audience segment. (5) Set measurement plan — VCR for delivery quality, device reach for scale, holdout test for incrementality if budget permits.

Pre-launch checklist for India CTV: (1) Creative assets — 1920×1080 MP4, H.264, AAC audio, 15 or 30 seconds, under 100 MB, hosted on a CDN with India delivery enabled. (2) VAST tag — valid XML referencing the creative URL, with impression and quartile tracking pixels. Test the VAST tag using VAST Inspector or the IAB VAST validator before submitting. (3) DSP setup — CTV device type targeting active; frequency cap set; CPM bid at or above deal floor; audience segments applied. (4) Deal IDs activated — if using PMP deals, confirm deal IDs are entered in DSP and receiving bid requests (check deal reporting in the DSP after 24 hours). (5) Third-party verification — DoubleVerify or IAS VAST wrapper tags attached if required by the advertiser. (6) Conversion tracking — AppsFlyer or Adjust integration active if measuring app installs.

Three checks for the first 48–72 hours of a live India CTV campaign: (1) Delivery pacing — is the campaign spending at the expected daily rate? Under-pacing suggests targeting is too narrow, CPM is below floor, or deal IDs are inactive. Over-pacing suggests frequency cap is not set or targeting is broader than intended. (2) VCR — is video completion rate above 80% on premium publishers and above 70% on mid-tier? VCR below these thresholds indicates creative delivery problems (CDN issues, VAST errors) or low-quality inventory. (3) Device type distribution — in the DSP impression breakdown, is device.devicetype showing predominantly 3 (CTV) or 7 (smart TV)? A significant share of phone impressions (devicetype 4) indicates mobile traffic is entering your CTV buy — tighten device type targeting. Address any issue in the first 72 hours before significant budget is spent against a broken setup.