India’s Connected TV audience has surged 3X since 2022 to 207 million viewers across 62-65 million households, signalling a major shift in how advertisers need to plan for television.
The findings come from The Connected TV Era, a new report from WPP Media and The Trade Desk, with research conducted by Ormax Media. Drawing on more than 3,000 verified urban CTV users and over 12,000 CTV and OTT viewers, it provides one of the most comprehensive views of big- screen viewing behaviour in India to date.
Beyond scale, the research challenges assumptions shaping television planning and calls for a new approach to reach, attention and measurement. Key findings include:
• CTV advertising is turning attention into action. Across all CTV viewers surveyed, 83% seek more information after seeing an ad, rising to 89% among premium viewers. The findings point to CTV’s ability to turn big screen attention into meaningful consumer action.
• Gen Z CTV viewers consume content primarily across two screens, spending close to 3.1 hours a day on CTV. CTV is increasingly becoming an active screen for Gen Z’s content consumption. They spend over 3 hours a day on CTV, watching a range of programs from web series to sports and films. As a lean-back environment where viewers are deeply engaged with content, CTV can become the foundation of a connected omnichannel strategy – building attention on the biggest screen before reinforcing those messages consistently across the consumer journey.
• Premium CTV viewers combine attention with spending power. This premium urban audience of 21 million over indexes across financial products, travel, home furnishings, paid shopping memberships, lounge access, fitness and credit card ownership, making it particularly valuable to advertisers seeking high value consumers.
• One CTV impression now reaches an average of 2.5 people. More than 80% of viewing happens with family or others, while only 19% typically watch alone. Shared viewing is changing how advertisers should assess reach, frequency and household impact.
• CTV growth is accelerating beyond India’s largest cities. Rural CTV viewership grew 110% year on year. Small towns grew 55% and mini-metros 46%, against 21% in metros, pointing to where the next phase of growth is emerging.
Taken together, the findings underline the need for advertisers to plan CTV as a distinct medium, rather than as an extension of linear television or online video.
Rajiv Rajagopal, Senior Vice President, Head – Advanced TV, Media Solutions WPP Media, said: “India’s television market has reached an inflection point. The audience is not leaving the big screen, but the way it watches is changing. CTV is bringing together younger viewers, shared household attention and audiences moving beyond linear television. Media plans now need to reflect that reality.”
Tejinder Gill, Vice President, Business Development, India & South East Asia, The Trade Desk, said: “The next phase of CTV will not be won by simply shifting television budgets from one screen to another. It will be won by using data to reach the right households, manage frequency and understand whether big screen attention led to a real business outcome. That is the reset advertisers need to make.”
The full report is available for download, here.
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise specified, all findings reflect proprietary jointly commissioned by The Trade Desk and WPP, executed by Ormax Media. This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance.
Research Methodology
Fieldwork was conducted between May and June 2026 by Ormax Media as part of a joint research initiative between WPP Media and The Trade Desk. The report draws on two sources: the Ormax OTT Audience Report 2026, which provides audience-sizing estimates based on a sample of 12,000 respondents across urban and rural India covering all age groups, and a dedicated consumer- profiling study of 3,000 urban CTV viewers, additionally, household sizing was modelled by WPP Media. For this research, CTV viewers are defined as individuals who watched online videos on a connected television at least once in the previous month.
about wpp media
WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com.
WPP Media is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions, and expert strategic counsel.
about the trade desk
The Trade Desk™ is a technology company that empowers buyers of advertising. Through its self- service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can create, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across ad formats and devices. Integrations with major data, inventory, and publisher partners ensure maximum reach and decisioning capabilities, and enterprise APIs enable custom development on top of the platform. Headquartered in Ventura, CA, The Trade Desk has offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit thetradedesk.com.