CTV ads play on large screens at close viewing distances in an environment where viewers have high quality expectations set by the streaming content itself. Creative quality failures — compression artefacts, audio sync issues, wrong aspect ratios — are immediately visible and reflect poorly on the brand. Getting creative specs right before campaign launch is non-negotiable. This page covers the technical requirements for India CTV publishers.
Video technical requirements
| Parameter | Standard requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Container format | MP4 | Universally accepted. WebM accepted by some publishers. MOV is not accepted for delivery. |
| Video codec | H.264 (AVC) | H.265 (HEVC) accepted by premium publishers for higher efficiency. H.264 is safe across all publishers. |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 (1080p) | 1280×720 minimum. 3840×2160 (4K) accepted by JioHotstar for premium inventory. Standard for most campaigns is 1080p. |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 16:9 widescreen only. 4:3, 1:1, and vertical formats are rejected for in-stream CTV inventory. |
| Bitrate | 2–5 Mbps | Below 2 Mbps causes visible compression artefacts on 50"+ screens. Above 5 Mbps risks VAST 402 timeout errors on variable connections. |
| File size | ≤ 150MB | Most India CTV publishers cap at 150–200MB. A 30s/1080p/4Mbps creative is typically 15–20MB — well within limits. |
| Frame rate | 25fps or 30fps | Match the frame rate of the content environment. 25fps is standard in India (PAL heritage); 30fps also accepted. |
| Duration | 15s or 30s | 6s bumper accepted by some publishers. 60s available on select JioHotstar premium inventory with advance booking. |
Audio requirements
Audio quality problems are the most common creative rejection reason in India CTV. The two critical requirements:
- Codec: AAC stereo. Bitrate 128–320 kbps. Mono audio is not accepted for CTV.
- Loudness normalisation: CTV players apply loudness normalisation to all content and ads. If your ad is significantly louder than the normalisation target, publishers will either reject it or the player will apply gain reduction that distorts the audio. The standard target is -24 LUFS integrated loudness with a -2 dBFS true peak limit (EBU R128 / ATSC A/85 standard). Have your audio team measure and normalise the mix before delivery — do not rely on the publisher or DSP to normalise after the fact.
A common India CTV production error: adapting a television commercial that was mastered for linear TV broadcast (typically -23 LUFS with different dynamic range treatment) to CTV without re-normalising. The result is an ad that plays at a noticeably different loudness level from the streaming content, creating a poor viewer experience and risking rejection.
Ad format and delivery
- Ad protocol: VAST 3.0 or higher. VAST 2.0 is the absolute minimum. No VPAID — CTV apps do not execute JavaScript, and VPAID creatives will fail with VAST error 405.
- CDN hosting: Creative files must be hosted on a CDN accessible without authentication. For India CTV, use a CDN with India PoPs (AWS Mumbai, Akamai India, Cloudflare India) to minimise timeout risk. Creative files served from a CDN with only US/EU PoPs will have higher latency to Indian viewers and elevated VAST 402 error rates.
- HTTPS required: All creative URLs must be served over HTTPS. HTTP-served creatives are rejected by modern CTV players.
- Tracking pixels: Third-party impression and quartile pixels must also be HTTPS. For SSAI publishers (JioHotstar, SonyLIV), confirm with the publisher whether client-side or server-side beaconing is used — this affects which pixel firing method your measurement vendor should configure.
India publisher review requirements
Most major India CTV publishers require creative pre-approval before campaign launch:
- JioHotstar: Creatives must be submitted 48–72 hours before launch. Live sports inventory requires additional approval and may have category restrictions (alcohol, tobacco, gambling are excluded regardless of ASCI guidelines). Submit via the Google Campaign Manager trafficking workflow.
- SonyLIV: 24–48 hours review window. Programmatic creatives submitted via Magnite deal management; direct deals via SonyLIV's ad ops team.
- Zee5: 24–48 hours. PubMatic deal management for programmatic; direct for direct campaigns.
- FAST channels (Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels): Review requirements vary by channel operator. Build 48 hours minimum into timelines to avoid launch delays.
A creative that passes technical spec validation but fails content review (prohibited category, missing disclaimer, quality below threshold) is still rejected. Submit early. Review turnaround on festival periods (Diwali, IPL) extends to 96+ hours due to volume.