We now want to cement our place as a leader in the CTV space: India TV MD Ritu Dhawan

In this exclusive interview with Adgully, Ritu Dhawan, Managing Director, India TV, speaks at length about the impact of connected TV on content consumption patterns in India, and how India TV is adapting its content strategy to cater to this changing trend. She also explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the growth of connected TV in Tier 2 and 3 cities and the innovative solutions emerging in this space.

“Through our 19-year journey of trust and success, we now wish to expand and cement our place as a leader in the CTV space,” Ritu Dhawan affirms. Excerpts from the interview:

With the rise of connected TV as a preferred choice of content supply and consumption, how has India TV adapted its content strategy to cater to this changing trend?

As per the reports, there are around 22 million active CTV (connected televisions) devices in India. This number should reach 50 million by 2025. Now, when we say 50 million devices, CTV viewers will be 300 million.

Thanks to the power of the Internet, CTV has become a personal screen for an individual viewer based on three parameters: content, convenience, and consistency. According to us, there is an opportunity to go beyond the 24-hour barrier of providing content and facilitating structured information to the viewer. Additionally, since CTV has more time spent compared to linear TV, there is scope for each type of content creator to deliver exclusive content. Our content strategy is focused on capitalising these two opportunities.

How does India TV prioritise hyper-localisation and customisation in its connected TV strategy to cater to the diverse audience in Tier 2 and 3 cities?

CTV market size is growing on the same trend lines as smartphone penetration experienced in the past. Availability of Internet and low-cost CTV devices are shaping Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. It is the growing number of smartphone users in India that is driving a need for smart TVs as users prefer to consume streaming content on bigger screens when at home. India TV offerings on a CTV platform aim to provide contextualised, nuanced, and relevant information in multiple formats, themes, and devices. This means that we create a personalised delivery pipeline. From live streams, on-demand viewing, fast news to our flagship offering ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, every offering of India TV is delivered in a structured manner.

In your opinion, what role do you see connected TV playing in the future of content consumption, and how is India TV positioning itself to lead this conversation?

The CTV ecosystem is much more evolved and advanced compared to linear TV. The rise in vernacular languages and glocal video content, along with the experience of CTV home screen, has altered content consumption patterns across the nation. From a product perspective, it is important for us to present content in the viewer’s familiar navigation and content styles, that is, we prioritise customisation and personalisation. We believe this approach has helped us maintain our position as India’s Most Engaged News Video Publisher. Moving forward, digital-first, localisation, explainers, user-generated content will define content consumption in the future.

With the increase in connected TV advertising spends, how is India TV evolving its ad dynamics to provide a seamless viewing experience for its audiences?

Apart from linear TV capabilities of ad delivering, CTV has digital formats like geo-targeting, in-streams ads, pre-rolls, and mid-rolls. Additionally, other impactful features for revenue generation are also available. Sponsored content and impact feature Ad formats are also important for advertisers as they can target connected audiences separately. India TV believes that capabilities of digital ad formats are key drivers for Ad innovations at CTV. Rich media ads and their ability to instant call-to-action are attracting advertisers’ and viewers’ eyeballs.

How do you think connected TV is changing the content consumption patterns of audiences in Tier 2 and 3 cities, and what opportunities does this present for content creators and distributors?

As we said, with connected TV, viewers are exposed to a variety of content beyond the limitation of DTH and cable operator plans. Furthermore, AI capability of devices ensures personalised experience for viewers.

Language and availability played a successful role in shaping content consumption patterns in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The popularity of ‘Kantara’, ‘RRR’ or ‘Pushpa’ not only represents this trend, but also highlights a cultural shift for the audience. From kids to elderly at home, each of them has their new choices like anime and international shows. It is an opportunity for creators and distributors to leverage this platform for maximising content consumption like Discovery+, MX Player are great examples of the same.

What innovative solutions do you see emerging in the connected TV space, and how is India TV preparing to leverage them to engage its audiences?

From broadcasters’ perspective, CTV is breaking boundaries of limited content broadcast with a 24x7 concept. This is a wonderful opportunity for content creators to facilitate structured content in multiple ways in the ecosystem. We can clearly measure the trend with our existing entertainment content consumption pattern like shift from GEC to popular OTT platforms. 

CTV viewers are more demanding than linear ones and their preferences are based on availability, credibility, and accessibility.

Through our 19-year journey of trust and success, we now wish to expand and cement our place as a leader in the CTV space.