Direct sales vs programmatic: which makes India CTV publishers more money?

How direct sales works for CTV publishers

In a direct IO (insertion order) sale, a publisher's sales team negotiates directly with an advertiser or agency. The advertiser commits to a specific volume of impressions at an agreed CPM over a defined period. The IO specifies the content environment, targeting parameters, creative specs, and delivery schedule.

Advantages of direct sales:

• Higher CPMs. Direct sold inventory commands a premium over programmatic. Advertisers pay more for guaranteed placement in specific, named environments — particularly for premium content like live sport or marquee originals. Premium direct CPMs in India CTV are estimated to be 2–4x programmatic open auction rates, though specific figures vary by platform, content, and deal.
• Predictable revenue. A signed IO is committed revenue. Unlike programmatic, which fluctuates with market demand, a direct deal provides planning certainty for a defined campaign period.
• Brand relationships. Direct sales builds long-term relationships with agency buyers and brand teams. These relationships create priority access to budgets, co-investment in branded content, and sponsorship opportunities that programmatic pipes cannot capture.
• Creative collaboration. Direct deals enable custom integrations: branded content, sponsorship bumpers, pause ad packages, interactive formats. These are not available through standard programmatic pipes.

Disadvantages of direct sales:

• High fixed cost. A sales team is expensive. For a mid-size publisher with inventory that is not yet at scale, the cost of sales staff may exceed the premium revenue they generate over programmatic.
• Inventory waste. Direct deals guarantee delivery. If a campaign runs at lower than committed volume (due to lower traffic than forecast), the publisher bears the make-good obligation. Unsold impressions after direct deals deliver generate zero revenue.
• Sales cycle length. A direct IO deal takes weeks to months to negotiate, approve, and traffic. Programmatic inventory can be live the same day.

How programmatic works for CTV publishers

Programmatic inventory is sold through automated auctions. A publisher connects to one or more SSPs (supply-side platforms), which make the inventory available to DSPs (demand-side platforms) used by advertisers. Bids are submitted in milliseconds at the time each impression is served. The highest eligible bid wins.

Programmatic channels available to India CTV publishers:

• Open auction (OA / RTB): Inventory is available to all buyers at any price above the publisher's floor. Highest volume, lowest CPM. Floor prices should be set carefully — floors that are too low depress CPMs; floors too high reduce fill rate.
• Private marketplace (PMP): The publisher invites specific buyers to an auction at preferred floor CPMs. A middle ground: more control than open auction, more scale than direct IO. India CTV PMPs are common for publishers with premium content.
• Programmatic guaranteed (PG): A direct deal executed through programmatic pipes. Committed volume, agreed CPM, but delivered automatically with creative trafficking handled programmatically. This gives publishers the CPM of a direct deal with the operational efficiency of programmatic.
• Preferred deals: A specific buyer gets first look at inventory at a fixed CPM before it goes to PMP or open auction. No volume guarantee, but pricing is predetermined.

Advantages of programmatic for India CTV publishers:

• Fill rate. Open programmatic demand — particularly if the publisher is connected to multiple SSPs — fills inventory that direct sales would leave unsold. Every unsold impression is zero revenue; programmatic turns it into something.
• No sales cost for the residual. A small publisher without a sales team can monetise entirely through programmatic with minimal overhead.
• Demand diversity. Programmatic connects Indian CTV publishers to international DSPs and advertisers who would not otherwise have a direct relationship with the publisher.

CPM comparison: what the gap actually looks like

Industry estimates for India CTV suggest:

• Direct IO CPMs on premium CTV inventory (live sport, originals, news): estimated ₹300–600+ for brand campaigns on tier-1 platforms.
• PMP CPMs: typically 20–40% below direct IO rates for equivalent inventory.
• Open auction CPMs: lower than PMP, and subject to significant volatility. Floor price discipline matters.

These are directional estimates based on market conversations — not published rate cards. Individual deals vary significantly. The gap between direct and open auction can be narrower for less premium inventory and wider for tentpole events.

India publisher landscape: how the market actually sells

India's CTV publisher market is not homogenous. The approach to direct vs programmatic differs significantly by publisher tier:

Tier 1 platforms (JioHotstar, SonyLIV, Zee5)

Heavy direct sales operations. Large sales teams selling to agencies and major brands. Premium tentpole inventory (IPL, Champions Trophy, major originals) is sold direct and sponsorship-packaged before the event. Programmatic channels exist for residual and non-premium inventory. Direct-first is the revenue strategy.

Mid-tier platforms (OTT originals, regional streamers)

A mix. Some have small direct sales teams focused on key agency relationships; programmatic fills the rest. PMP deals are increasingly common at this tier as agencies become comfortable with programmatic CTV buys. Open auction is used for long-tail fill.

Small publishers and content owners

Programmatic-first by necessity. No sales team budget. Access to direct agency relationships is limited. The focus should be on optimising programmatic yield: SSP selection, floor pricing, PMP setup for niche audiences. Monetisation via platforms (YouTube, JioHotstar distribution) may be more practical than direct CTV publishing for very small content operations.

Hybrid strategy: the practical recommendation

The optimal strategy for most Indian CTV publishers with meaningful scale is a waterfall with defined yield rules:

1. Direct IO for top 20–30% of inventory by value. Premium content, tentpole events, guaranteed audience packages. Sales team focused on top agency accounts and direct brand relationships.
2. PMP deals for mid-tier inventory. Regular programming content. Invite 5–10 preferred DSP/advertiser partners to compete in a controlled auction above a minimum floor. More efficient than direct IO for this tier; better CPMs than open auction.
3. Programmatic guaranteed for committed volume from programmatic buyers. When a DSP buyer wants to commit volume, route it through PG rather than open auction to capture a guaranteed CPM.
4. Open auction for residual. Everything that does not fill through the above tiers goes to open auction with a floor price that prevents CPM collapse. Some impressions will go unfilled — that is acceptable if the floor price is disciplined.

India-specific considerations

Several factors shape the direct vs programmatic calculus specifically for India:

• Agency centralisation. Most large India CTV budgets flow through a small number of media agencies (GroupM, Publicis, IPG, Dentsu, Havas). Building direct relationships with these agencies' investment teams is more efficient than maintaining a full brand-by-brand direct sales operation.
• Festival seasonality. India's ad market is highly seasonal — Diwali, Dussehra, and IPL dominate the CTV premium calendar. Direct sales for these periods are non-negotiable; programmatic CPMs spike during these windows but volume certainty requires direct deals.
• Programmatic maturity. India's programmatic CTV market is less liquid than the US. SSPs and DSPs have variable India CTV coverage. Publishers should evaluate programmatic partners on India-specific CTV fill rate, not global metrics.