The latest Kantar’s Media Compass Report shows that Connected TV (CTV) has reached an audience of 166 million monthly viewers in the country. This figure is for Q1 2026, represents an audience above 15 years of age, and records a 23 per cent rise of Q1 2025 numbers.
The findings show CTV has emerged as a leading platform for entertainment consumption, thereby staking claim as a key component of media plans of advertisers.
According to the report, 59 million viewers consume content exclusively on CTV, representing 36 per cent of the total CTV audience.
Due to the ongoing fragmentation among television audiences, CTV has emerged as an extension to traditional TV campaigns, providing an opportunity to brands to reach viewers that linear TV has not been able to.
Further, CTV’s reach is not restricted to urban areas only where nearly 60 per cent of the such users reside. A third of the CTV users live in rural India as well.
So, advertising on CTV can reach target consumers both in rural areas as well as those belonging to the premium categories.
Puneet Avasthi, Director, Specialist Businesses, South Asia, Kantar, was quoted as saying in media reports: “The rapid evolution of Connected TV is reshaping how brands approach audience targeting. Our latest Media Compass insights show that the CTV opportunity is not just about scale, it gives a sizeable 4 per cent incremental reach of audiences not available on LTV with a strong Metro Male skew.
“By providing a continuous, cross-media view of consumer behaviour across TV, digital and print, Media Compass helps brands move beyond siloed planning to maximise reach, reduce duplication and drive greater effectiveness from their media investments.”
The report also exhibited a balanced audience profile among CTV users – 53 per cent being men and 47 per cent being women. Also, the 25–44 age group comprises nearly half of all viewers.