India's CTV audience is not a monolith. Approximately 55% of India's internet users prefer content in a language other than Hindi. Regional language CTV audiences — Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal — represent large, under-served advertising pools where national CTV campaigns with Hindi-only creative frequently underperform. This article maps the regional language CTV landscape, identifies which platforms reach which language audiences, and explains how to build a creative and buying strategy that works for regional India.
Why regional language CTV is different
A viewer watching Zee Marathi on Zee5 or a Tamil serial on SonyLIV is in a different content context than a viewer watching a Hindi film on JioHotstar. Language signals content affinity, geographic concentration, and often demographic profile. Regional language CTV audiences in South India tend to index higher for certain income bands — Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have high urban household incomes relative to national averages, and their CTV-connected households are concentrated in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Coimbatore. Marathi-language CTV audiences in Maharashtra are concentrated in Pune and Mumbai — one of the highest-income metro markets in India.
Platform strength by language
Tamil: SonyLIV (Sun TV content via agreement), Zee5 (Zee Tamil), JioHotstar (Star Vijay). SonyLIV is the strongest single-platform option for Tamil CTV reach. Telugu: SonyLIV (Sony LIV Telugu), Zee5 (Zee Telugu), JioHotstar (Star Maa). Well-distributed across platforms. Kannada: Zee5 (Zee Kannada) is the dominant Kannada AVOD destination on CTV. SonyLIV has secondary Kannada content. Marathi: Zee5 (Zee Marathi) is the clear leader. No other platform has equivalent Marathi CTV depth. Bengali: Zee5 (Zee Bangla) leads for Bengali CTV content. Hoichoi (niche Bengali OTT) is a secondary option for premium Bengali drama audiences.
Creative requirements for regional campaigns
Language-adapted creative is non-negotiable for regional CTV. Dubbing Hindi audio to a regional language produces noticeably worse results than native-language creative — regional audiences are highly attuned to language authenticity. Minimum requirement: native-language voiceover for all CTV pre-roll creative. Best practice: culturally adapted creative, not just translated copy. Regional food, clothing, settings, and reference points matter. A pre-roll that performs well in Delhi will often underperform significantly in Chennai without language and cultural adaptation.
Buying strategy
For regional language campaigns, the most efficient route is direct deal with the platform that has the strongest content in the target language: Zee5 for Marathi/Bengali/Kannada, SonyLIV for Tamil/Telugu, JioHotstar for Star regional channels. YouTube CTV with Tamil/Telugu/Marathi content targeting is a programmatic complement — Google's content targeting allows language-specific channel targeting within YouTube, though not with the same content adjacency clarity as direct deal on a dedicated regional platform. Minimum regional campaign spends: Rs 2–5 lakh for standard direct deals on Zee5 or SonyLIV.
CPM benchmarks for regional language CTV
Regional language direct-deal CPMs on Zee5: Rs 60–180. SonyLIV regional: Rs 80–200. JioHotstar regional (Star channels): Rs 120–280. YouTube CTV with regional content targeting: Rs 30–100 TrueView. Regional language inventory is generally priced below national Hindi/English premium inventory, reflecting lower programmatic competition — an efficiency advantage for regional-focused brands.