Connected TV gains ground as advertisers seek audiences beyond traditional TV: Report

Mumbai: Connected TV is becoming an increasingly important part of India's media mix, offering advertisers access to millions of viewers who are no longer watching traditional television, according to a report by Kantar.

Connected TV (CTV), which allows consumers to stream content on internet-enabled televisions, reached 166 million monthly viewers aged 15 and above in the January-March quarter, up 23% from a year earlier, Kantar's Media Compass report showed.

The biggest shift for advertisers is that 59 million of those viewers watch content only on CTV and not on linear television. That means more than one-third of the CTV audience cannot be reached through conventional TV advertising, highlighting changing viewing habits as consumers spend more time on streaming platforms.


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"The rapid evolution of Connected TV is reshaping how brands approach audience targeting," said Puneet Avasthi, Director, Specialist Businesses, South Asia, Kantar. "Our latest Media Compass insights show that the CTV opportunity is not just about scale, it gives a sizeable 4% incremental reach of audiences not available on LTV with a strong Metro Male skew."

He said Media Compass provides a cross-media view of consumer behaviour across television, digital and print, helping brands "move beyond siloed planning to maximise reach, reduce duplication and drive greater effectiveness from their media investments."

The report also suggests that CTV is no longer limited to affluent urban households. About 60% of its viewers belong to the highest socio-economic NCCS A category, making it an attractive platform for premium brands. At the same time, one in three CTV viewers lives in rural India, reflecting the spread of connected devices beyond large cities.

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The audience profile is also broad. Men account for 53% of viewers and women 47%, while people aged between 25 and 44 make up nearly half of the total audience. This age group is typically among the country's biggest spenders, making CTV relevant for categories such as consumer goods, electronics, automobiles, financial services and entertainment.

Kantar said the platform still has significant room to expand. Only 46% of CTV viewers currently have a fixed broadband connection at home, suggesting that improvements in internet infrastructure could accelerate adoption further.

The findings are based on Kantar's Media Compass, a quarterly media measurement report that tracks media consumption across television, digital and print using a rolling sample of more than 87,000 consumers across India.