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Small towns drive India’s connected TV growth

By Sohail Khan 20 August 2026, 12:36 am

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Business News›Industry›Media/Entertainment›Media›Small towns emerge big growth driver for connected TV in India

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Small towns emerge big growth driver for connected TV in India

Synopsis

Connected TV households in India now number sixty-two to sixty-five million viewers. Growth is significantly higher in smaller towns and rural areas across India. This expansion is not replacing linear television but complementing its viewership. Prime time viewership is emerging strongly on both CTV and linear platforms. Household-level measurement and frequency management are key challenges for advertisers.

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Mumbai: Connected TV is expanding rapidly in India, with growth increasingly coming from small towns and rural markets even as the medium continues to be important for premium audiences, according to a joint report by WPP Media, The Trade Desk and Ormax Media.

India now has an estimated 62 million to 65 million CTV households and 207 million viewers. The CTV audience has grown three times since 2022, while viewers spend an average 2.9 hours a day on the platform. About 67% of CTV viewers are either new to the medium or spending more time on it than a year ago. The strongest growth is coming from outside the metros. CTV audiences grew 21% in metros, 46% in mini metros, 55% in small towns and 110% in rural India. The report said non metro India accounts for the majority of the CTV audience.

Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Kerala and parts of the Northeast recorded higher than average growth.

Rajiv Rajagopal, senior vice-president and head of advanced TV, media solutions at WPP Media India, said smaller markets have a lower base but are recording significantly higher growth. He also pointed to continued headroom in urban markets, where CTV penetration is around 47%. UP, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and AP/Telangana are among the largest markets.

The expansion is not translating into a simple replacement of linear television. About 68% of CTV viewers also consume linear content, while 54% of CTV homes are either cord cutters or light linear viewers.

Tuning in Growth expands 55% in small towns and more than doubles in rural India: Report

It is increasingly becoming an "and" conversation between CTV and linear television, said Rahul Kapoor, VP partnerships, The Trade Desk India. Prime time is also emerging across both screens. Between 8 pm and 10 pm on weekdays, 78% of CTV viewers are active on the big screen compared with 63% for linear TV. On weekends, the figures are 73% and 61%.

Measurement, however, remains a challenge because CTV is largely a shared household experience. More than 80% of viewers watch with family or friends. An average CTV household has 3.3 people, while one impression reaches about 2.5 members of the household.

The report said this requires reach, frequency and measurement to be considered around the household. Sajit Gopal, head of media at Domino's India, said advertisers need "cross screen frequency management and unified measurement."

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