India's top 8 metros have been the primary CTV market since the beginning — high incomes, reliable broadband, early smart TV adoption. But the fastest-growing segment in India CTV is not in the metros; it is in India's tier-2 cities. Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Indore, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Vijayawada, Surat, Vadodara, Ludhiana — these cities and dozens like them are now the frontier of India's CTV household expansion, driven by JioFiber, falling smart TV prices, and an aspirational middle-class consumer with increasing discretionary income.
What is driving tier-2 CTV growth
JioFiber reaching tier-2 cities
The single biggest driver of tier-2 CTV growth is JioFiber's expansion. Before JioFiber, reliable home broadband in tier-2 cities was expensive, limited in coverage, and often technically poor. Mobile data was the primary internet access for most tier-2 city households. JioFiber has changed this: affordable home broadband (plans starting at Rs 399–499/month for 30 Mbps) has made reliable streaming-capable internet available in homes that previously could not sustain CTV viewing.
JioFiber has been expanding aggressively into tier-2 cities since 2021–22. By 2024–25, JioFiber has meaningful presence in the top 30–40 tier-2 cities in India. JioAirFiber, the fixed wireless offering, extends further into cities and localities where fibre deployment is challenging.
Affordable smart TV shipments
Smart TV prices have fallen dramatically in India. A 32-inch Android TV from Xiaomi, Thomson, or VU is available for Rs 10,000–13,000 at retail — less than the monthly family grocery bill for many tier-2 city households. A 43-inch smart TV is Rs 18,000–25,000. These price points have brought smart TV ownership within reach of SEC B and even upper-SEC C households in tier-2 cities that previously watched only cable TV on a non-smart set.
Content that resonates in tier-2
Tier-2 city households have strong content preferences that streaming platforms serve well. IPL is watched in tier-2 cities with the same intensity as in metros — perhaps more, since local cricket is deeply embedded in tier-2 sports culture. Hindi entertainment (drama, reality, Bollywood films) is the primary entertainment content. Regional language content in the local language of that city's state is also strongly watched. This content is all available on JioCinema, Hotstar, and YouTube — the same platforms that serve metros.
Who the tier-2 CTV viewer is
The tier-2 CTV household differs from the metro CTV household in important ways:
- Income: Tier-2 CTV households skew SEC B and upper-C — lower income than metro CTV households on average, but still significantly above the all-India average. These households have made a deliberate investment in a smart TV and broadband, reflecting aspirational spending behaviour.
- Family viewing: Co-viewing is even more pronounced in tier-2 cities than in metros. The TV screen is typically the primary household entertainment device, and evening viewing involves the entire family. Co-viewing multipliers of 3–4x per screen are common.
- Content preference: Hindi film and entertainment, cricket (IPL above all), and local/regional language content. Less consumption of English-language or international content than metro households.
- Purchase categories: Tier-2 CTV viewers are valuable for consumer durables, FMCG, automobiles (two-wheelers and entry-level four-wheelers), financial products (insurance, personal loans), and e-commerce. These are household-level purchase decisions made by the family together — well-aligned with co-viewing CTV advertising.
How to reach tier-2 city CTV audiences
Geographic targeting via JioCinema and Hotstar
Both JioCinema and Hotstar support city-level geographic targeting. For direct buys, specify the tier-2 cities in the IO. For programmatic buys on Hotstar or YouTube, use city-level geographic targeting in DV360 or the respective DSP. JioFiber's household-level address data (accessed via Jio Ads' targeting) makes city-level and even neighbourhood-level geographic targeting particularly precise for JioCinema buys.
YouTube as the anchor
YouTube is the most programmatically accessible CTV channel for reaching tier-2 city audiences. DV360 geographic targeting (city and state level), combined with Hindi-language content targeting, reaches tier-2 CTV viewers watching Hindi music, films, and entertainment on YouTube on their smart TV screens.
IPL as the reach vehicle
For broad tier-2 CTV reach, nothing competes with IPL on JioCinema. IPL is watched with high intensity in tier-2 cities, and JioCinema's free access (no subscription required) means the IPL audience in tier-2 cities is not limited to households that can afford a streaming subscription. The IPL audience in tier-2 cities is one of the largest concentrations of the aspirational middle-class consumer available in any advertising channel.
Hindi language creative
Unlike South Indian markets where regional language creative is important, tier-2 city audiences in Hindi-belt states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand) are primarily served by Hindi-language creative. National Hindi creative runs effectively in these markets. Regional language adaptation is needed for tier-2 cities in South India or East India (Bengal, Odisha).
Tier-2 CTV as a planning consideration
Most India CTV plans are built around metro audiences without explicitly thinking about tier-2. This is a missed opportunity for brands whose target audience extends into tier-2 cities. A media plan that buys national CTV inventory will naturally reach tier-2 audiences as JioFiber expands — JioCinema and YouTube do not limit delivery to metros. But the planning lens, the creative, and the evaluation framework are often metro-centric.
For brands with explicit tier-2 objectives — telecom, two-wheelers, FMCG, consumer finance — building a tier-2 CTV targeting layer (geographic targeting + tier-appropriate creative + tier-2 city-specific frequency management) produces better results than relying on national CTV buys to serve tier-2 audiences by default.