65% of Indian internet users watch ad-supported video content: GroupM Nexus report

GroupM’s 2nd edition report of a study on advancing TV transformation, titled ‘The Changing Landscape of Indian Television,’ revealed that 65% of Indian internet users watch ad-supported video content, amounting to an audience base of 486 million.

9.8% of the total TV advertising revenue in 2023 went towards Addressable TV services, representing Rs 45 billion in ad revenue.

GroupM Nexus expects that by 2026, 16% of TV ad spend will be devoted to Addressable TV products and services on Connected TVs.

According to the report, India is one of the world’s most important TV markets after China. BARC estimated that India had 210 million TV households in 2020. Ampere reported that total TV households in India has grown by 1.1% CAGR over 2020-2023 to 217 million TV households.

The report attributed the growth in TV households in India to increased subscriptions to Free TV services. Connected TV is expected to reach more than 45 million households by the end of 2024.

52% of Indian households are connected to the internet, up from 36% in 2020. This is projected to reach 59% by 2026.

The report noted that India is the third largest SVoD market by subscription, with multiple SVoDs reaching 88.3Mn households according to Ampere Market Operators forecast.

India’s OTT market integrated an increasing number of ad-supported services from 2021 when Netflix launched ad supported tiers to 2023 when Jio and Airtel entered the ad-supported streaming scene.

GroupM Nexus served nearly 5 times more ad impressions through its Advanced TV Solution in Aug-Oct 2023 compared to the same time period in 2022.

While Pay TV remains the most common means of TV access, Addressable TV has grown rapidly and its reach is now comparable with Pay TV and Free TV. 66% of current Pay TV customers watch Addressable TV.

Market average of viewership of Addressable TV services is reported to be 64% and its viewership remains consistently high across diverse geographies and metropolitan areas.

When combined with YouTube advertising, up to 90% of respondents may be reached and targeted via Addressable TV including any overlap (ie., streaming OTT and FAST channels on TV using the internet).

27% of respondents that can’t be reached via Free TV services can be reached through Addressable TV with Youtube while 24% of respondents may be reached and targeted via Addressable TV with YouTube that don’t watch Pay TV services.

The reported household incomes of Addressable TV audiences are 1.09x that of households that watch Free TV services. Addressable audiences are also more active spenders for shopping and leisure items.

Addressable audiences find addressable advertising more appealing, 41% would be willing to see adverts to reduce their SVoD subscription fees.

11% of respondents are cord-cutters and no longer use any Pay TV or Free TV services; 54% of cord-cutters watch services that provide addressable advertising.

The report notes that this rate of cord-cutting may present a problem for advertisers, as consumers become unreachable by traditional advertising channels. This group are also more likely to invest in ad-free SVoD services than those still taking Pay TV.

However, 54% of cord-cutters continue to watch Addressable TV services, providing advertisers with access to this increasingly hard to reach cohort.

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