CTV adds 35 mn viewers, sees equal urban-rural reach: Kantar report

CTV gains 35 million viewers in Q1 2025, sees even spread across rural and urban India, while digital-only users rise and linear TV still leads with 58 per cent reach

Connected television (CTV), also known as smart TV, gained 35 million viewers in the first quarter of calendar year 2025, with an equal reach for audiences in rural and urban areas, according to a report by Kantar.

 

The report, titled Media Compass, which has an annual sample of 87,000 consumers and quarterly reporting, said this indicates that CTV viewership is no longer just a metro trend. At the same time, CTV has emerged as a premium channel, offering advertisers a high-value opportunity with the rise in viewer numbers. However, linear TV still dominates, with 58 per cent of Indians using the medium every month.

   

“One in four Indians are now digital-only — or about 23 per cent of Indians are digital-only users. This marks a pivotal shift in how India consumes content, especially the younger and rural audience,” the report said. These users access the internet but do not watch linear TV. In rural areas, there are 74 per cent of digital-only users, while linear TV accounts for 75 per cent of users.

 

On the other hand, digital-only users and CTV have about 57 per cent of their viewers as male audience. Meanwhile, linear TV, the report stated, has a balanced gender viewership.

 

Age-wise, 55 per cent of audiences aged between 15 and 34 prefer to consume content from digital mediums, over-the-top platforms (OTT) and social media. People over 45 years remain over-indexed on linear TV compared to internet usage, the report noted.