MUMBAI: Given the current addiction of Indians shopping online on their mobile phones, it may be hard to believe that some of that buying may shift to the television screen. But Abhijeet Rajpurohit, co-founder of CloudTV – that provides smart TV Operating System (OS) to more than 100 TV brands which integrates OTT apps and live channels – believes that experiential brands may soon be bought off smart TV screens.
“Since TVs are increasingly smart, they don’t just show content but allow a layer of communication. Today, you can no longer just watch a match but interact with it. Likewise, you can view an ad also act on its promise. So, yes, there will be commerce on TV,” Rajpurohit said. CloudTV OS, which works with budget-friendly TV brands, is already upgrading its platform to make the shopping experience on its partner TV brands frictionless. While big brands like LG and Samsung have their own proprietary Operating Systems, several other manufactures use Google TV.
Once the application experience on a CTV becomes seamless, Rajpurohit expects products that can be better displayed in a TV ad to find traction among shoppers. For instance, a striking automobile ad can have a button on the screen for booking a test drive, he said. Also, the increased use of AI voice assistants will make shopping off the smart TV screen much easier. Up until now, this was restricted owing to cumbersome use of the remote. “Smart TV viewers are already using voice assistants to get the latest match scores or news headlines from their connected TVs,” he said.
Russhabh Thakkar, CEO, at Frodoh, which specializes in CTV advertising, believes that in a mobile-first country like India, TV shopping may be some years away, but that doesn’t take away the increasing value of advertising on CTVs. Over the last couple of years, CTV ad rates have jumped as brands are attracted to CTVs for their advanced targeting that is based on demographics, location and viewing habits. It gives better measurement than traditional linear TV, Thakkar said, adding that linear TV viewing is passive while CTV promises active viewing. This also makes the medium attractive to smaller, local brands and retailers. “CTV advertising is no longer an experiment but a core budget allocation. It can reach more than 35 million homes with precision,” Thakkar said.
CTV advertising is also driving a surge in digital ad spends. Dentsu-e4m digital report of 2026 said by 2027, total digital media advertising will surpass ₹98,000 crore. CTV advertising is projected to reach ₹3,000-3,500 crore by 2027.
In a LinkedIn post Sandeep Kumar, head of Product at Jio Platforms, however, pointed to the worrisome gap between the number of smart TVs sold and those connected to the internet. Though 93% of TVs sold in the country are smart TVs, most of them never connect to the internet, he wrote. His analysis shows that there is an installed base of 70-100 million smart TV homes but there are only 45 million homes with broadband. So, between 30-50 million homes have no fixed broadband connection.
For rural and semi urban households, fibre-optic broadband (that uses cable) or Fixed Wireless Access (that provides high speed internet to a fixed location via radio waves) isn’t easily available, the monthly broadband subscription may be steep or they may also be finding the wi-fi set up intimidating, Kumar wrote.
Rajpurohit and Thakkar admit the gap between CTVs sold and actually connected. “But things are changing. Up until 2019, only 20% of the people who bought smart TVs connected it to the internet. That percentage is upwards of 50%-60% today,” Rajpurohit said.
He also said that the real growth in CTVs is coming from tier 2 and tier 3 markets. Media experts said that once broadband crosses 60-70 million homes, the connected smart TV households will scale to an impressive 100 million. Once that happens, CTV advertising will see a bigger spike.
Though Thakkar believes that Indians will still chill with TV and shop on mobile, he’s keeping his fingers crossed for more buyers to connect their smart TVs to the internet.