Choosing the right deal type for an India CTV campaign is a function of three variables: what you need (delivery certainty, targeting precision, or price efficiency), what inventory is actually available via each deal type in the India market, and how much operational complexity your team can handle. This guide maps common campaign objectives to deal types and flags the India-specific constraints that make this market's deal landscape different from the US or UK.
Decision framework: the three questions
Before selecting a deal type, answer three questions:
- How critical is delivery certainty? If underdelivery during a specific flight window would materially harm the campaign (product launch, event-adjacent awareness), delivery certainty is paramount. If underdelivery is acceptable and reach optimisation can compensate, flexibility is acceptable.
- How important is audience targeting precision? If you need to reach a specific demographic or first-party audience match, targeting precision matters. If the campaign's goal is broad brand reach within a content environment (IPL, drama content), contextual placement matters more than audience targeting.
- What is the budget? Direct deals and PG require minimum commitments that scale programmatic options cannot match. Open exchange and PMPs require smaller per-deal commitments but involve auction dynamics.
Deal type selection by campaign goal
| Campaign goal | Recommended deal type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum reach, brand awareness, flexibility | Open exchange + PMP combination | Open exchange provides broad reach; PMP layers in premium inventory with floor pricing without delivery commitment overhead |
| Guaranteed delivery in a specific flight window | Programmatic guaranteed (PG) or traditional direct deal | Only PG and direct IO obligate the publisher to deliver agreed volume. For India, direct IO is more common at major publishers |
| Premium content environment, no auction uncertainty | Preferred deal (first-look) | Locks preferred pricing and first-look access to specific content; buyer can pass impressions that don't meet targeting criteria without penalty |
| Audience targeting with some inventory quality filter | PMP with audience overlay | PMP provides curated inventory list; DSP applies audience targeting within the PMP to reach desired users in brand-safe environments |
| IPL or major sports event coverage | Direct deal with JioHotstar | Premium IPL CTV inventory is not available programmatically — only through JioHotstar's direct sales team |
| Budget optimisation / performance-oriented CTV | Open exchange with contextual targeting | Lowest CPM floor; DSP optimises toward completion rate or outcome. Best for cost-per-completion campaigns |
Deal type selection by budget
India deal type minimums vary significantly:
| Deal type | Typical India minimum | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open exchange | No formal minimum — DSP budget can start ₹50,000+ | Accessible to any budget with a DSP seat; quality and reach limited at very small budgets |
| PMP | ₹2–5 lakh per deal (publisher-set) | Publishers set informal minimums; very small spends may not get PMP access or publisher attention |
| Preferred deal | ₹5–15 lakh depending on publisher | First-look access requires meaningful spend commitment to justify publisher setup cost |
| Programmatic guaranteed (PG) | ₹10–25 lakh for a meaningful PG deal | PG requires volume commitment; very small volumes not economically viable for publisher |
| Traditional direct IO | ₹25 lakh–₹1 crore for premium publishers | JioHotstar direct minimums are the highest; regional publishers are lower |
For campaigns under ₹5 lakh, open exchange is the practical default. For campaigns over ₹25 lakh, PMP or preferred deals become accessible and worth the setup investment. For campaigns over ₹1 crore, direct deals or PG with premium publishers are appropriate and often necessary to achieve volume and placement goals.
India-specific constraints on deal type selection
JioHotstar premium inventory is direct-only. The most valuable CTV inventory in India — IPL, live cricket, major original series — is not available through any programmatic deal type. If reaching JioHotstar premium audiences is a priority, a direct IO relationship with JioHotstar's sales team is unavoidable.
PG is less common than in Western markets. Indian publishers and agencies are more familiar with traditional IO and PMP than PG. PG requires both parties to have configured deal ID infrastructure correctly. For first-time PG deals with India publishers, budget extra time (2–3 weeks) for setup and testing.
Open exchange quality varies significantly. India open exchange CTV includes a wide range of inventory quality — from tier 1 OTT platforms to low-quality FAST channels and unverified apps. Running open exchange without an app allowlist or publisher inclusion list can result in significant low-quality impressions. Always apply a curated publisher list for open exchange CTV in India.
Preferred deals over PMPs for relationship-first publishers. Some India publishers (particularly regional OTT and FAST operators) are more comfortable with preferred deal structures than formal PMP auction setups. If a publisher is smaller or less programmatically mature, a preferred deal may be easier to execute than a PMP even if PMP is theoretically the better mechanism.
Combination strategies for India CTV
Most India CTV campaigns above ₹25 lakh use a combination of deal types:
Direct IO + PMP: Direct IO with JioHotstar or Zee5 for guaranteed premium placement; PMP deals for reach extension across programmatic inventory. The direct deal provides the campaign's tent-pole moments; the PMP provides scale.
Preferred deal + open exchange: Preferred deal with 2–3 key publishers for content environment control; open exchange for remaining budget at lower CPM. Effective for mid-budget campaigns (₹15–₹50 lakh) that want content adjacency but also need scale.
PMP with audience overlay + contextual open exchange: PMP for audience-targeted premium impressions (e.g., high-intent category audiences in brand-safe environments); contextual open exchange (cricket, finance, automotive content) for reach at lower cost. Effective for performance-oriented brand campaigns that need measurable outcomes.