Independent trading desks (ITDs) are programmatic buying specialists that operate DSP seats and execute campaigns on behalf of advertisers or agencies — without being owned by a media agency holding company. In India, independent trading desks active in CTV include iProspect India, Xapads, Silverpush, and several boutique programmatic consultancies. Unlike agency holding company desks (GroupM Xaxis, Publicis Performics), independent desks are not tied to recommending specific DSPs or supply partners for commercial reasons, and they typically operate on transparent fee models — a fixed management fee or disclosed percentage of media — rather than taking opaque trading margins.
The case for using an independent trading desk for India CTV: transparent supply chain visibility (you see exactly which SSPs and publishers your spend reaches), DSP-neutral recommendations (they will tell you whether DV360 or The Trade Desk is right for your inventory goals, without a conflict), and often lower effective cost once agency mark-ups are removed. The case against: independent desks typically have lower buying scale than the major holding company groups, which may mean less leverage on PMP floor pricing with large publishers. For mid-market advertisers spending INR 20-100 lakh on CTV per campaign, an independent desk with transparent fees often delivers better value than a holding company desk at equivalent scale. Ask any trading desk — agency or independent — for their fee structure, DSP fees, and SSP fee disclosures before committing budget.
Full guide
For a complete explanation, read: Independent trading desks for CTV in India: what they are and when to use them