India’s OTT audience reaches 665m as connected-TV base jumps 60%: Ormax
Ormax Media estimates India’s OTT audience grew 11% year-on-year to 664.9 million in 2026, while active connected-TV viewers rose 60% to 206.9 million. The shift expands the addressable video ecosystem for retail advertising, shoppable content and omnichannel customer engagement.
What happened
Ormax Media estimates India’s OTT audience reached 664.9 million in 2026, while paid subscriptions rose to 172.6 million. Connected-TV viewing surged 60% to
Key facts
- OTT audience: 664.9 million in 2026, up 11% year-on-year
- Active paid OTT subscriptions: 172.6 million, up 16%
- 45% of India's population watches online video
- Active connected-TV audience: 206.9 million, up 60% from 2025
- Average OTT viewing: 14.9 hours per week
- Estimated annual video consumption: 517 billion hours
- Micro-drama audience growth: 50%
- K-drama audience growth: 48%
- Anime audience growth: 32%
- FAST channel viewers: 35.2 million
- Monthly active audio streamers: 227.3 million
- Paid audio subscribers: 15 million
- Cities with at least 1 million OTT viewers: 44
Why this matters
The expanding connected-TV base raises the strategic value of acquiring or partnering with CTV measurement, interactive-video commerce and regional-content capabilities in India.
What to watch
- Growth in ad-supported OTT and CTV inventory versus subscription-led viewing.
- Availability of standardized CTV reach, frequency, brand-safety and sales-lift measurement in India.
- QR scan-to-purchase rates and the share of CTV-exposed households converting through mobile or stores.
- CPM inflation and minimum-spend requirements for premium CTV placements.
- Retail-media networks adding OTT/CTV audience extensions or closed-loop sales reporting.
- Broadband quality, smart-TV penetration and connected-device usage growth in tier-2 and tier-3 markets.
- Build CTV test plans around QR codes, short vanity URLs and geo-specific offers that connect viewing exposure to app, web and store outcomes.
- Create household-oriented creative for CTV while using mobile retargeting to complete purchase journeys.
- Prioritize regional-language video assets and city-tier segmentation as OTT reach broadens beyond metro audiences.
- Negotiate cross-platform packages with OTT publishers that include CTV, mobile video, audience retargeting and transparent frequency controls.
- Strengthen first-party identity capture through loyalty, app sign-ins and consented customer data to improve CTV audience matching and incrementality measurement.