CTV viewership soars, 23% Indians go digital-only, says Kantar's Media Compass Report
More than half or 58% Indians still watch linear TV every month, but connected TV (CTV) has emerged as a premium channel, with 35 million incremental viewers, offering advertisers a high-value opportunity, Kantar said.
India's media landscape is rapidly evolving, with digital consumption growing sharply across age, gender, and geography. While linear TV still commands strong reach, the rise of
digital-only users
and connected TV signals a shift, especially among younger, male and rural audiences. These trends highlight the need for inclusive, nuanced, and audience-responsive media strategies across platforms.
Puneet Avasthi, Director, Specialist Businesses, Insights Division- South Asia, Kantar, said, 'In today's fragmented and fast-evolving media landscape, brands are under pressure to make every media rupee count. Yet, most decisions are still being made using outdated or incomplete data, leading to suboptimal media planning and missed connections with consumers. Media Compass 2025 aims to correct this and equip advertisers with timely, in-depth insights across platforms- enabling smarter media planning, stronger audience engagement and sharper targeting for maximum impact.'
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One in four Indians are now digital-only. A significant 23% of Indians are digital-only users. They access the internet but do not watch linear TV. This marks a pivotal shift in how India consumes content, especially the younger and rural audience. Linear TV continues to have a balanced gender viewership. However, both digital-only users and CTV viewers skew 57% male, underlining the importance of inclusive content strategies in these domains.
"There is a generational divide in media preferences and habits are sharply split by age. For instance 15–34-year-olds prefer dgital (55%), OTT (55%) and social media (57%). Over 45 year old audiences remain over-indexed on linear TV (44%) as compared to internet usage, highlighting the need for age-responsive media planning, Kantar said in Media Compass,
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Rural India is a media powerhouse - digital-only (74%) and linear TV viewers (75%) are widely present in rural areas, breaking old assumptions. Even CTV now reaches both urban and rural audiences equally, showing it's not just a metro trend anymore.
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