India CTV CPMs have moved meaningfully from 2023 to 2026. The market began the period fragmented and price-suppressed—too much supply, too little committed demand, and insufficient measurement infrastructure to justify premium pricing. By 2026, the picture has changed: premium inventory is scarce, advertiser demand is concentrated, programmatic maturation has increased auction competition, and JioHotstar's IPL dominance has established a new price reference for what India CTV commands at the top of the market. This is a narrative of directional change, not a ledger of precise figures—the India market does not publish uniform CPM indices. But the direction is clear.
2023: a fragmented baseline
At the start of this period, India CTV was growing rapidly in audience but slowly in advertiser adoption. The major platforms—then Hotstar (pre-Jio merger), Zee5, SonyLIV, Voot—competed for a limited pool of advertiser budgets. Programmatic infrastructure was nascent; most significant buys were direct IO. Open auction inventory transacted at low CPMs because supply substantially exceeded committed demand.
Measurement was a significant constraint. BARC's streaming measurement was not yet sufficiently mature to give agencies the cross-platform audience data they needed to justify premium CTV commitments. Third-party verification on SSAI platforms was limited. Without measurement confidence, buyers were reluctant to pay premium CPMs for outcomes they couldn't verify.
The 2023 baseline for India CTV CPMs—using directional industry commentary from that period—was broadly low relative to what premium inventory commands today. Open auction remnant sat at the floor; even direct deals on top platforms were modest compared to global peers. India's linear TV CPM anchoring effect was strong.
2023–2024: the JioCinema IPL effect
The most significant CPM-moving event in India CTV's recent history was JioCinema's free streaming of IPL. The decision to make IPL available free on JioCinema—and the resulting record-breaking concurrent viewership numbers—fundamentally changed advertisers' perception of India CTV's reach capability.
Simultaneously, it changed publishers' pricing confidence. When JioCinema demonstrated that India CTV could deliver tens of millions of concurrent viewers for a live event, and when major advertisers competed aggressively for a limited pool of premium live inventory, it established a new price reference for what India CTV could command. Publishers across the market—not just JioCinema—used this as an anchor for their own rate card conversations.
The 2023–2024 period saw the strongest directional uplift in India CTV CPMs, concentrated in premium live inventory and driving expectations upward across the market. Agencies began building CTV-specific line items in media plans rather than treating CTV as an overflow from digital video.
2024: JioHotstar and market consolidation
The merger of JioCinema and Hotstar into JioHotstar created India's dominant CTV publisher—combining Reliance Jio's digital infrastructure and distribution with Disney's content catalogue and Star's broadcasting scale. This consolidation concentrated advertiser demand on a single platform, giving JioHotstar pricing power it could not have held as two separate entities.
Market consolidation typically supports CPM increases on dominant platforms. Advertisers who previously split budgets between Hotstar and JioCinema now directed combined budgets toward JioHotstar, increasing demand concentration. Competitor platforms—SonyLIV, Zee5—maintained their CPM levels without matching JioHotstar's premium tier.
By 2024, India CTV programmatic infrastructure had also matured meaningfully. More DSPs had live India CTV integrations; more agencies had CTV-specialist trading desks; and PMP deal activity had increased substantially, raising average programmatic CPMs through increased auction competition.
2025: ad tiers, FAST growth, and CPM differentiation
The 2025 period saw the expansion of ad-supported tier models on India's major OTT platforms, including JioHotstar's ad-supported access tier. This created a new category of premium CTV ad inventory: ads served to subscribers who chose the ad-supported tier over the ad-free option.
Ad-tier inventory commands higher CPMs than traditional AVOD inventory because the audience is engaged enough to pay for streaming but price-conscious enough to accept ads. This audience profile—typically urban, educated, moderate-to-high income—is attractive to BFSI, auto, and e-commerce brands, driving CPM premiums on ad-tier inventory above open AVOD rates.
FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channel growth added supply at the lower end of the CPM spectrum. FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus and Tata Play Binge provide inventory at relatively lower CPMs, giving reach-focused buyers an efficiency layer. This supply growth helped moderate average blended CPMs even as premium inventory CPMs rose.
By 2025, India CTV CPMs had established a clear tiered structure: live sports at the top, ad-tier subscription inventory in the premium band, AVOD on-demand content in the mid-tier, and FAST channel inventory at the efficiency floor. The spread between top and bottom widened, but all tiers were directionally higher than 2023 baselines.
2026: where rates stand now
In early 2026, India CTV CPM dynamics reflect the consolidation of the trends above. Premium live sports inventory commands the market's highest rates, with IPL continuing to function as the annual price discovery event. Agency-reported estimates describe a market where:
- The gap between open auction remnant and premium direct has widened, not narrowed—publishers have become more deliberate about supply tiering
- Programmatic PMP activity has grown, raising average programmatic CPMs above the open auction floor
- Measurement improvement, though still incomplete, has given buyers more confidence in paying premium CPMs for verified delivery
- Advertiser education is higher—more brands plan India CTV specifically rather than treating it as digital video overflow
What has driven the overall trend: a summary
Four structural factors have driven India CTV CPM increases from 2023 to 2026:
- IPL price discovery: Live cricket on CTV established a premium pricing reference that elevated expectations market-wide
- Supply tiering by publishers: Major OTT platforms learned from display advertising's commoditisation and deliberately restricted open auction availability to protect premium pricing
- Programmatic maturation: More buyers competing in more auctions mechanically increased clearing prices, particularly in PMP formats
- Advertiser migration from linear: As linear TV GRP budgets shifted toward CTV, more committed demand chased a relatively fixed pool of premium CTV inventory
Where are India CTV CPMs heading: 2026–2028
The directional outlook for India CTV CPMs through 2027–2028 is upward, particularly for premium inventory segments. The forces driving increases are not temporary—IPL will continue to function as an annual price discovery mechanism; programmatic maturation will continue raising auction competition; and advertiser education will continue driving budget migration from linear.
However, open auction and remnant CPMs will continue to face supply pressure as more platforms add CTV inventory. The market will continue bifurcating: premium inventory rising faster than blended averages; commodity inventory rising more slowly or remaining flat.
Measurement improvement is the wildcard. If BARC's streaming measurement reaches the cross-platform de-duplication capability needed for agency-grade planning, and if third-party verification expands on India OTT SSAI platforms, the justification for premium CPM commitments will strengthen significantly. Better measurement typically supports higher CPMs because it reduces buyer uncertainty. Watch for measurement developments as the key indicator of whether India CTV CPM growth accelerates or plateaus.