Connected TV (CTV) is any television set that connects to the internet and streams video content — whether through a built-in smart TV platform, a streaming stick (Fire TV, Chromecast), a set-top box, or a gaming console. It is not a channel. It is not a network. It is a delivery mechanism: IP-based video on the biggest screen in the home.
For advertisers, CTV matters for one reason: it combines the attention and screen size of linear TV with the targeting precision, measurement, and programmatic infrastructure of digital. You can reach a specific household demographic watching premium long-form video, buy it programmatically, and measure post-campaign outcomes — none of which was possible with traditional broadcast.
How CTV is different from linear TV
Linear TV delivers content via broadcast, cable, or satellite on a fixed schedule. The viewer watches what is on. Advertisers buy broad audiences — Women 25–54, SEC A — using ratings panels like BARC India, and pay a CPT (cost per thousand) for the privilege.
CTV inverts this. Content is available on-demand. The viewer chooses what to watch and when. The platform knows exactly who is watching — not from a panel, but from a login or device profile. Advertisers can target based on content genre, platform, device type, geography, and increasingly, behavioural signals. Measurement is impression-level, not panel-estimated.
The practical implication: a brand that runs on linear TV is buying reach with demographic approximation. A brand that runs on CTV is buying specific households watching specific content, with the ability to frequency-cap, sequence creative, and tie exposure back to outcomes.
The CTV ad model: AVOD, FAST, and hybrid tiers
Not all CTV is ad-supported. The landscape splits across three content models:
- SVOD (subscription video on-demand): Paid subscription, no ads. Netflix (base tier), Amazon Prime Video (India). Revenue comes from subscribers, not advertisers.
- AVOD (ad-supported video on-demand): Free or discounted content funded by advertising. JioHotstar's free tier, Zee5's ad-supported content, MX Player. This is where CTV advertising runs.
- FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV): Linear-style channels streamed over the internet with ad breaks. Limited in India today but growing as a content model. Pluto TV, Plex operate globally; India FAST is nascent [NEEDS SOURCE for specific India FAST launches].
- Hybrid tiers: Platforms offering both ad-free paid and ad-supported free tiers. JioHotstar post-Viacom18 merger, JioHotstar. Advertisers access the ad-supported tier.
For planners: when a platform says "CTV inventory," confirm which tier you are buying. Premium live sport on a free AVOD tier commands different CPMs and audience behaviour than VOD content on a hybrid tier.
CTV in India: the key structural facts
India's CTV market is structurally different from the US or UK. A few key differences shape how planners should approach it:
- Smart TV penetration is growing rapidly but from a lower base. India has over 20 million connected TV households as of 2024, concentrated in metro and Tier 1 markets [NEEDS SOURCE — FICCI-EY or MPA report]. Compare this to the US at 120+ million CTV households.
- Telco-bundled streaming dominates. JioHotstar and Jio's broadband ecosystem mean a large portion of India CTV viewers are accessing content through Reliance-controlled infrastructure. This shapes both inventory availability and data access.
- Live sport is the CTV tent pole. IPL on JioHotstar redefined CTV scale in India — it was the first major premium free-to-air live sport event on a streaming platform at this scale. It established advertiser interest in CTV and benchmarked CPMs for the category.
- Measurement is in transition. BARC India measures linear TV through a panel. CTV measurement relies on platform-reported impressions, which vary in quality and third-party verifiability. There is no unified cross-platform measurement standard in India yet.
- The regional language opportunity is underbuilt. Hindi-language CTV inventory is concentrated. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali content on CTV is available but programmatic access is limited. This is where the next wave of CTV scale will come from.
How CTV fits into the media plan
CTV is not a replacement for linear TV in India — not yet, and possibly not for a decade. It is an incremental reach layer: you reach the cord-cutters and cord-nevers that your linear buy misses, with better targeting and more measurable outcomes.
A practical planning framework:
- Use linear TV for mass reach. India's linear TV universe is still 800+ million viewers [NEEDS SOURCE — BARC India]. CTV cannot replicate that scale.
- Use CTV to extend reach among lighter TV viewers. Young urban professionals who primarily watch content on streaming platforms are underrepresented in linear TV audiences. CTV reaches them.
- Use CTV for precision buys. Category targeting (e.g., financial services reaching business news viewers), retargeting logged-in users, frequency control across a campaign.
- Do not double-count reach. Some viewers watch both linear and streaming. Deduplicated cross-platform reach measurement is the unsolved problem in India. Until it is solved, be conservative about incremental reach claims.
What planners and buyers need to know next
This tower covers the full CTV fundamentals. Work through the hubs below to build your understanding from the ground up:
Topics in this tower
What is CTV?
Definitions, OTT vs CTV, AVOD vs SVOD vs FAST, and the basics every planner needs.
CTV devices
Smart TVs, streaming sticks, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes — how each connects and what it means for ad delivery.
The CTV ecosystem
Publishers, platforms, DSPs, SSPs, and the ad tech stack that connects them.
India CTV landscape
JioHotstar, JioHotstar, SonyLIV, Zee5, regional OTT, BARC measurement — the India-specific picture.