How smart televisions are reshaping content consumption and marketing strategies in India

For some time, there was a notion that with the appearance of smartphones and streaming apps, household viewing was a factor of the previous, as every particular person sought his or her personal pursuits. However good televisions appear to have buried that notion, going by the newest information.

The rising adoption of Connected TV (CTV) in city India is essentially reshaping content consumption. In line with an EY-FICCI report launched this yr, video format instructions a 60% share of the media and leisure sector.

Whereas India’s CTV utilization grew 21% YoY in Could 2024, in line with a report by Comscore launched final month, streaming platforms are shifting their strategy from mobile-first, personalised content material for people to family-centric programming that caters to a wider viewers.

“Streaming providers are more and more prioritising content material designed for household viewing,” mentioned Chandan Sharma, common supervisor – digital media, Adani Group.

Platforms similar to ZEE5 have seen a 25% enhance in consumer engagement, pushed by a stronger deal with family-centric storytelling and various regional content material.

Equally, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar are increasing their libraries with family-oriented reveals and films to draw a wider viewers.

The Indian authorities has additionally launched ‘Waves’, an OTT platform devoted to selling Indian tradition and providing family-friendly leisure in a number of regional languages.SonyLIV, ZEE5, and Amazon Prime didn’t reply to queries despatched by way of e-mail.

“Tv has historically been a communal medium. It’s after all dying a pure loss of life; however when you see what ZEE5 or SonyLIV is doing, they’ve been attempting to put money into a milieu of programming that may have a bigger base quite than deal with a distinct segment viewers. The identical is with JioHotstar, which is investing closely in sports activities,” mentioned Sumon Ok Chakrabarti, cofounder and chief government of Buffalo Troopers, a inventive company that just lately secured the inventive and digital mandate for Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024.

Nonetheless, consultants famous that OTT platforms are unlikely to dominate the personalised cell display screen house, which can as an alternative be captured by platforms similar to YouTube, that are specializing in delivering extremely focused and customised content material.

In truth, YouTube, too, has been driving the good tv revolution. Linked TV has been the videostreaming app’s fastest-growing platform for the previous 5 years, and India displays this international development. As of March 2024, over 50% of YouTube CTV watch time in India is on content material that’s 21 minutes or longer.

“CTV’s immersive viewing expertise (larger screens, higher audio, and management over what’s on display screen), means its audiences are extra engaged and emotionally invested,” YouTube mentioned.

The evolution of house leisure is being pushed by improvements in show expertise and synthetic intelligence. Developments similar to OLED expertise, HDR, and specialised screens improve the viewing expertise.

“AI is taking part in an more and more crucial position by optimising picture settings in real-time, adapting to each content material and environmental situations to ship a persistently superior viewing expertise, marking a major leap towards actually clever and personalised house cinema,” mentioned mentioned Rajeev Singh, managing director, BenQ India.

Evolving advertising and marketing methods

As streaming expands into shared residing areas, manufacturers are rethinking conventional advert placements, shifting focus from personalised cell adverts to high-impact, immersive promoting on giant screens.

“For advertisers, CTV eliminates the broad, one-size-fits-all strategy of conventional TV promoting by providing data-driven, hyper-personalized advert experiences. YouTube’s integration with Google Advertisements and programmatic platforms allows exact concentrating on, versatile marketing campaign execution, and measurable affect,” the corporate advised ET.

The advert trade is ready to surpass $1 trillion in whole income this yr and is anticipated to develop 7.7% in 2025 to achieve $1.1 trillion, in line with Group M’s This 12 months Subsequent 12 months (TYNY) promoting forecast.

“With greater than 20% year-on-year progress, India is meant to have 40 million CTV customers. For any model, it is a important quantity that can not be ignored. Widespread web entry, reasonably priced good TVs, and a rising demand for digital content material will gas this surge,” mentioned Chandan Sharma of the Adani Group.

“Manufacturers have elevated their CTV investments in a giant manner in comparison with final yr. Some manufacturers have elevated by virtually 2-3X. Some have began utilizing CTV affect as a key technique, lowering TV and cell affect,” mentioned Sairam Ranganathan, chief digital officer, Wavemaker India.

Moreover, India’s house leisure panorama is evolving quickly, with premium viewing experiences taking part in a key position in shaping shopper habits.

Booming sectors

With CTV reshaping digital advertising and marketing, industries similar to FMCG, ecommerce, and BFSI are leveraging its excessive engagement potential, making it a crucial device for advertisers, as per consultants.

Dwell sports activities is proving to be a game-changer for CTV, as sports activities viewership on linked TVs is rising the quickest, at 75% globally.

“Audiences are more and more drawn to interactive experiences, with 67% exhibiting curiosity in adverts inside stay sports activities programming, highlighting important promoting potential. This development displays a rising demand for stay, interactive content material, with sports activities now representing a major share of CTV engagement,” mentioned Jay Ganesan, senior vice chairman, APAC, Amagi, a media tech unicorn.

Every of those industries is integrating CTV into their media planning methods, leveraging its distinctive benefits to interact shoppers extra successfully in a premium, lean-back surroundings.

“Huge manufacturers use CTV’s concentrating on capabilities and ad-supported streaming fashions to ship personalised adverts appropriate for household audiences. This enhances engagement and belief and can also be very cost-effective in contrast with different strategies for reaching an analogous viewers,” Sharma added.

What lies forward

The potential for hybrid advertising and marketing approaches is huge as Linked TV adoption accelerates. Trade leaders anticipate an increase in premium, ad-supported content material, complemented by strategic collaborations that merge influencer-driven storytelling, precision-targeted digital promoting, and interactive social media campaigns.