India’s festive CTV ad spend is projected to reach Rs 1,200 crore in 2026

Connected-TV advertising is expected to gain further festive-season budget share as FMCG, e-commerce, electronics, auto and beauty brands pursue affluent, co-viewing audiences shifting from linear TV.

— Source publishedTue, 1 Sept, 2026, 12:28 IST·First seen Tue, 1 Sept, 2026, 13:41 IST·Source ET Brand Equity

What happened

Frodoh · India’s festive connected-TV advertising market is projected to reach Rs 1,200 crore in 2026, supported by migration from linear TV and spending from

Key facts

  • Festive CTV ad spend: Rs 180 crore in 2022
  • Festive CTV ad spend: over Rs 1,000 crore in 2025
  • Estimated festive CTV ad spend: Rs 1,200 crore by end-2026
  • India festive advertising market: Rs 55,000-60,000 crore annually
  • Digital receives over 50% of festive ad allocation
  • India festive goods sales: Rs 5.4 lakh crore between Navratri and Diwali 2025
  • 82% of Indian CTV viewing occurs in evening/night
  • Average CTV usage: 2.9 hours daily per viewer
  • Gen Z represents 49% of India's CTV audience
  • 76% of co-viewers use CTV as their primary shared viewing device
  • Average CTV impression reaches 2.5 household members
  • 44% of CTV universe is NCCS A

Why this matters

Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in CTV inventory aggregation, cross-screen measurement and premium-content distribution as brand budgets migrate from linear television.

What to watch

  • Upfront festive inventory sell-through and CPM inflation on major connected-TV and streaming platforms.
  • Release of credible cross-publisher CTV reach, frequency and brand-safety measurement standards in India.
  • Growth in smart-TV penetration, broadband quality and ad-supported streaming viewing hours outside the top metros.
  • Share of festive media budgets allocated to retail media and quick-commerce platforms versus video.
  • Adoption of shoppable CTV, QR-led attribution and deterministic household-to-purchase measurement.
  • Whether regional-language streaming inventory scales fast enough to attract mass-market FMCG and tier-2/tier-3 campaigns.
  • Secure festive CTV inventory and sponsorship packages during the pre-monsoon planning window, before premium-event supply is sold.
  • Build CTV plans around household segments such as affluent families, new-home buyers, auto intenders and regional-language viewers rather than broad demographic buys.
  • Pair CTV exposure with QR codes, shoppable formats, retailer offers and marketplace retargeting to convert awareness into measurable commerce outcomes.
  • Negotiate unified reporting across CTV, linear TV, mobile video and retail media, including incremental reach, frequency and sales-lift metrics.
  • Develop co-viewing creative variants for family decision-making categories, especially electronics, auto, beauty, financial services and festive gifting.

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