JioStar Unveils Playbook to Shape India’s CTV Future

JioStar Entertainment has launched its first-ever Connected TV (CTV) Playbook—a comprehensive, data-rich guide to help brands and marketers decode India’s booming CTV audience and unlock the power of entertainment-led big-screen engagement.

What Is the CTV Playbook All About?

Unveiled in July 2025, JioStar’s Connected TV Playbook dives deep into the opportunities presented by the rise of Connected TV in India. Built in partnership with Ipsos and drawing on analytics from JioHotstar’s massive user base, the resource lays out clear, actionable insights for brands. It shows how CTV is fast becoming the cornerstone of Indian digital households, not just for streaming, but for shared, high-attention brand experiences.

Why the Hype Around Connected TV?

The CTV Playbook reveals a fundamental shift in Indian viewing habits:

• 85% surge in JioHotstar’s CTV watch time—viewership on the big screen is growing much faster than on mobile.
• 40% of total platform viewing now happens on CTV.
• Viewers spend over 100 minutes daily on CTV, a whopping 1.5 times more than mobile device users.
• Co-viewing (watching together) is 3.1x higher on JioHotstar than on leading user-generated content platforms, with 70% of viewers watching with their families and 66% co-viewing regularly.

These numbers confirm that for Indian audiences, CTV has moved beyond being a “second screen” to the main screen—the living room’s digital hub for family entertainment.

Premium Audiences, High Engagement

The Playbook highlights just how attractive the CTV audience is for advertisers:

• 90% of JioHotstar’s CTV users are from high or medium affluence households.
• 81% of users belong to the NCCS AB category (urban, upper-income segments).
• 61% are in India’s top 8 metro cities, giving brands deep access to urban, premium consumers.
• 91% watching long-form JioHotstar Specials are subscribers, a 50% higher rate than platform average—proof that these audiences are not just watching, but willing to pay for quality content.

R.A.C.E. Framework: The Marketer’s Playbook

JioStar’s CTV Playbook uses the R.A.C.E. framework—Reach, Attention, Connection, Effectiveness—to help brands move from basic impressions to measurable business impact:

• Reach: Showcases the huge, growing base of premium viewers across genres, cities, and languages.
• Attention: Focuses on time spent, lean-in behaviours, and the immersive experience of big-screen viewing.
• Connection: Explains how brands can join the conversation in contextual, family-focused moments with innovative ad formats.
• Effectiveness: Demonstrates outcome-based planning, from brand recall to real business results.

Innovative Ad Formats and Tools

The Playbook features a host of innovative advertising options tailored for the CTV experience, such as:

• Pause Ads: Capture attention when viewers pause their show.
• CTV Billboards: Eye-catching, static placements in high-impact content.
• Spot Ads: 100% share-of-voice in premium programs.
• Contextual and dynamic content optimization—making sure ads are relevant and memorable.

Content, Diversity, and Language

JioHotstar’s vast CTV content ecosystem boasts:

• 22,000+ titles in 19 languages
• 250+ originals
• 7,000+ international shows from over 10 studios
  This deep catalogue helps brands tap into both Hindi and English viewers—and even regional language audiences, as shown by the fact that over 80% of Malayalam CTV viewership comes from non-Malayali audiences.

Industry Impact: The Big Screen Is Back

As India adds millions of new smart TVs each year and CTV households soar to 30 million by 2024, industry experts predict this trend will grow. Brands looking to reach younger, premium, urban viewers—and engage whole families together—can no longer ignore Connected TV.

JioStar’s CTV Playbook gives marketers the tools to act on this shift: combining national-scale reach, deep engagement, and the new reality that Indian living rooms are digital-first, content-rich, and ready for immersive brand storytelling.