# Small towns drive 55% growth in India connected TV reach 2026-08-19T14:09:19+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets India's connected TV (CTV) base reached 68 million unique sets connecting to the internet monthly in 2025, with about 40 million connecting weekly, according to the Ficci-EY report cited by Livemint. A Kantar study cited by the same outlet says one in three CTV users is in rural India. The Economic Times, citing a WPP Media-The Trade Desk-Ormax report, estimates 62-65 million CTV households and 207 million viewers, with audience growth of 55% in small towns and 110% in rural India. Both outlets report that CTV is not replacing linear TV. The Economic Times notes 68% of CTV viewers also watch linear content, while Livemint quotes experts saying CTV in small towns often involves family co-viewing of regional movies and live sports. Livemint emphasises opportunities for regional content and brands, while The Economic Times flags measurement challenges for advertisers, with 80% of viewing being a shared household experience and one impression reaching about 2.5 people. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Livemint and The Economic Times report CTV growth from a neutral, data-driven stance, but differ in emphasis. Livemint leads with the rural opportunity story, one in three users outside metros, and frames the trend as a shift from mobile to shared living-room viewing that benefits regional content and brands. The Economic Times leads with household and viewer numbers and devotes more space to advertiser challenges: measurement, frequency management, and the fact that CTV largely complements rather than replaces linear TV. Neither outlet is pro-government or critical, the difference is audience focus: Livemint's coverage tilts toward content creators and platforms, while The Economic Times' tilts toward advertisers and media buyers. A careful reader can take away that CTV is growing fastest in rural India but remains a shared-screen medium that advertisers find tricky to measure. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - livemint.com (neutral report) Frames growth as opportunity for regional content and brands, leads with rural penetration data - economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with household/viewer numbers and devotes space to advertiser measurement challenges This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-19T20:57:24+00:00. Tags: CineNow, Ficci-EY, Kantar, Shemaroo Entertainment Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/one-in-three-smart-tv-users-in-rural-india-finds-kantar-report/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/one-in-three-smart-tv-users-in-rural-india-finds-kantar-report/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/