Connected TV in India is accessed through four main device types: smart TVs with built-in internet connectivity, streaming sticks and boxes plugged into older TVs, gaming consoles, and mobile devices connected to TV screens. Each device type has different technical capabilities, audience characteristics, and implications for ad delivery. Understanding the India CTV device landscape shapes which creative formats work, which programmatic pipes are available, and which households a campaign can realistically reach.
Smart TVs
Smart TVs are the fastest-growing CTV device segment in India. Shipments of internet-enabled TVs have exceeded 70% of total TV shipments in India since 2023 (industry estimates). The dominant smart TV operating systems in India:
| TV brand (India share) | OS | Device ID | Ad note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung (~20% smart TV share) | Tizen | TIFA | Samsung Ads available; Tizen app ecosystem includes JioHotstar, Zee5 |
| LG (~10%) | webOS | LGUDID | LG Ads inventory available; smaller India scale |
| Sony (~8%) | Android TV / Google TV | GAID | Google ecosystem; DV360 CTV targeting applies |
| TCL, Hisense, OnePlus, Xiaomi (~45%) | Android TV / Google TV | GAID | Largest India volume segment; Google ecosystem |
| Vu, Thomson, iFFALCON (value segment) | Android TV | GAID | Tier 2/3 city heavy; DV360 accessible |
Streaming sticks and boxes
Amazon Fire TV Stick: The most widely deployed streaming stick in India. Fire OS-based; device ID is AFAI (Amazon Fire Advertising Identifier). Amazon Publisher Services connects Fire TV inventory to programmatic buyers. JioHotstar, Zee5, SonyLIV, and Prime Video all have Fire TV apps. India Fire TV user base: estimated 8–10 million devices as of 2026.
Google Chromecast / Chromecast with Google TV: Cast-based device; the primary screen shows content from a mobile app. Google TV interface uses GAID. Relatively smaller India installed base compared to Fire TV, but growing.
Jio STB (Set-Top Box) / JioFiber Box: Jio's broadband TV offering includes Android-based set-top boxes that operate as CTV devices when connected to JioFiber. These route JioHotstar and other OTT apps through the Jio ecosystem. Advertising access is through JioHotstar's standard channels.
Mobile cast to TV
A significant share of Indian "CTV" viewing actually occurs when a mobile device casts or mirrors its screen to a television. In this case, the "TV" screen is showing mobile app content — the device ID that the ad system sees is the mobile phone's GAID, not a TV device ID. Advertisers targeting device.devicetype = 3 (connected TV) or 7 (smart TV) exclude cast-from-mobile impressions. This is technically correct — the ad is actually serving on a mobile app — but it means some large-screen viewing goes unaddressed by CTV-targeted campaigns.
India CTV device distribution implications
The dominance of Android TV / Google TV across mid-range and value smart TVs means that GAID is the most common CTV device identifier in India's open programmatic ecosystem. DV360's CTV targeting is therefore the broadest programmatic reach vehicle in India outside JioHotstar's walled garden. Samsung Tizen's TIFA-based inventory (Samsung TV Plus and Samsung Smart TV in-app) is accessible via Samsung Ads directly or through select DSP integrations — it is a significant additional reach layer for premium urban demographics.