Does Connected TV love advertisers back?

As chasing eyeballs on social media becomes expensive with diminishing returns, advertisers are pouring ad money into connected TVs

- Soumya Gupta

The 10-20 second spots on connected TV can be as much as triple the cost of an ad spot on Instagram.

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When was the last time you picked up your phone to scroll endlessly through videos mindlessly? Chances are, it was just a few hours (or minutes) before you began reading this story.

Advertisers are pouring more attention and money into vertical video than ever before, all in an attempt to reach the widest possible consumer base as Indians stay hooked to that infinite scroll of 30-second videos.

Yet, as chasing eyeballs on social media becomes increasingly expensive and with steadily diminishing returns, advertisers are progressively pouring ad money into connected TVs.

While costs for digital ad spots can vary wildly by an advertiser's industry, size, reach, and how much inventory they are buying, in general, 10-20 second spots on connected TV can be as much as triple the cost of an ad spot on Instagram, and many multiples higher than the ocean of display ads that litter the open internet. Clearly, CTV is premium and charges accordingly, but in the post-pandemic years, the cost of advertising on Instagram and Youtube in India has been growing by about 15-25% every year, following a boom in e-commerce and direct-to-consumer brands.

CTV ads offer several things social media doesn't as easily—a chance to show off on the big screen, a uniformly more lucrative user base, and a higher chance that your ad will be absorbed with some attention.