India CTV is in a period of structural change. The Reliance-Disney Star merger has reshaped platform ownership. JioFiber's tier-2 expansion is broadening the CTV household base. Measurement is improving incrementally. FAST channels are beginning to appear. This article sets out the key trends shaping India CTV in 2025 and what they mean for advertisers planning in this market.
Trend 1: The Reliance-Disney merger reshapes the platform landscape
The 2024 merger of Reliance's media assets (JioCinema, Viacom18, Colors, MTV India) with Disney Star (Hotstar, Star Sports, Star TV network) created the largest media and entertainment company in India by revenue and audience reach. The merged entity controls:
- IPL digital streaming rights (JioCinema)
- Star Sports linear TV cricket rights
- Hotstar's entertainment library and subscribers
- Star TV network channels (Star Plus, Star Vijay, Star Maa, Asianet)
- Colors, MTV India, and Viacom18 entertainment channels
For advertisers, this creates a complex dynamic. In theory, one entity now controls both the digital (JioCinema) and linear (Star Sports) rights to India's most valuable sports content. This concentration could give the merged company significant pricing power in CTV sports advertising. In practice, the integration of JioCinema and Hotstar is proceeding slowly — the platforms operate separately as of 2025, with separate sales teams and separate ad products.
The medium-term possibility of a merged JioCinema-Hotstar super-platform would create a dominant India CTV destination that would rival YouTube as the primary CTV buying decision. Advertisers and agencies should monitor platform integration closely in 2025.
Trend 2: CTV household base expanding rapidly into tier-2
JioFiber reached 30 million home broadband subscribers ahead of schedule. The expansion into tier-2 cities is accelerating with JioAirFiber — fixed wireless broadband that does not require physical fibre laying. This means the pace of tier-2 CTV household creation is not limited by infrastructure rollout speed.
The implication: the India CTV audience profile is diversifying. The 2023 CTV audience was heavily metro and SEC A. The 2025 CTV audience includes a growing tier-2, SEC B cohort. By 2026–27, tier-2 CTV households may represent 30–40% of India's total CTV audience. Media plans built around a metro-only CTV audience are already partly obsolete.
Trend 3: Smart TV prices continue to fall
The floor price for a smart TV in India is still falling. Indian OEM brands (VU, Thomson, Kodak) and Chinese brands (Xiaomi, TCL) compete aggressively on price at the entry level. 32-inch Android TV prices that were Rs 15,000 in 2021 are Rs 10,000–11,000 in 2025. 43-inch prices are approaching Rs 18,000 at retail.
Each price point reduction brings a new cohort of households into the smart TV universe. As prices approach Rs 8,000–9,000 for a 32-inch (likely by 2026), smart TV ownership will reach deep into SEC C households. This expands the total addressable CTV universe further, though the advertising monetisation of the lowest-income CTV households is a multi-year opportunity, not a near-term one.
Trend 4: FAST channels beginning to emerge in India
FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) — scheduled, linear-style streaming channels within a streaming app — is well established in the US (Peacock, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels) but is still early in India. Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels have some India-facing FAST content. Platforms including JioCinema and Zee5 have been testing FAST-style linear channels within their apps.
FAST channels create a new CTV ad inventory type: linear-style delivery (viewers tune in to a channel without choosing specific content) within a CTV environment. This is lower CPM than sports live content but higher than on-demand pre-roll, and it creates new contextual advertising opportunities. Watch for FAST channel development in India in 2025–26 as a new inventory category.
Trend 5: Measurement improving, slowly
BARC India is expanding its streaming measurement. Third-party verification vendors (IAS, DoubleVerify) are building India CTV infrastructure. Large advertisers are pushing platforms for better data. The trajectory is clear — measurement is improving.
But the structural barriers remain: SSAI prevents standard third-party tag firing on major CTV platforms. JioCinema and YouTube report their own numbers. No unified cross-platform reach metric exists or is imminent. The measurement gap with the US will narrow but will not close in 2025.
For planners: calibrate expectations to incremental improvement. Where third-party measurement is available (YouTube CTV via DV360 + IAS), use it. Where it is not (JioCinema SSAI), use platform-reported data with appropriate scepticism and negotiate brand lift studies as the outcome measurement layer.
What this means for 2025 CTV planning
- Build your JioCinema relationship early: IPL 2025 inventory sold out. For IPL 2026, start conversations in Q3 2025. The merged Reliance-Disney entity may create new combined packages spanning JioCinema sports and Star Sports linear — watch for this.
- Add a tier-2 city layer: If your brand's target audience includes tier-2 India, explicitly build tier-2 geographic targeting into your CTV plan. Do not assume national CTV buys adequately represent the tier-2 audience.
- Test FAST channels as they emerge: Early adopter advantage exists in FAST — lower CPMs, less competition, and contextually relevant environments before the category matures and prices rise.
- Push platforms for CTV-segmented reporting: As CTV-specific delivery reporting becomes more available, build it into every IO as a requirement. The data will improve your ability to evaluate and optimise CTV investment.
- Regional language CTV is still underpriced: South Indian CTV via Sun NXT, Aha, and YouTube regional language channels remains significantly less competed than national Hindi inventory. For brands with genuine regional market objectives, this is a 2025 opportunity before more advertisers recognise it.