India’s television habits have undergone a quiet revolution. With over 120 million Connected TV (CTV) users in 2026, the living room screen is no longer a passive broadcast medium – it is an on-demand, viewer-controlled environment where attention is earned, not assumed. And that shift is forcing advertisers to confront an uncomfortable truth: the old playbook isn’t working anymore.
From home screen placements that meet viewers before content even begins, to pause-screen formats and contextual overlays that work with the viewing experience rather than against it, Connected TV is giving brands an entirely new canvas to work with.
Today’s Smart TV viewer isn’t rage-quitting ads or reaching for the remote. The disengagement is subtler than that – a glazed look, a phone picked up, a mental checkout that leaves brands talking to no one. Viewers aren’t rejecting advertising outright; they’re rejecting advertising that feels interruptive, irrelevant, or repetitive.
The industry is responding. From home screen placements that meet viewers before content even begins, to pause-screen formats and contextual overlays that work with the viewing experience rather than against it, CTV is giving brands an entirely new canvas to work with. For regional advertisers, it’s opening doors that broadcast television kept firmly shut. For the ecosystem at large, it’s a reckoning — and an opportunity to build something better.
The Rise of Home Screen Ads
While CTV advertising is evolving in many ways, one of the most significant changes is not even related to the format but rather the location of ads. Ads used to be placed inside the content. However, CTV is providing a better opportunity for ads to be placed prior to content. This is where home screen ads come into play as some of the most lucrative spots in smart TVs.
This is the time when users are paying full attention to what is being displayed. Unlike mid-roll ads, which are interruptions, these ads blend seamlessly into the experience. In many ways, the home screen has become the first point of contact. In many ways, the home screen is now the face-to-face layer that brands use on CTV.
Creative Evolution: Ads That Work With the Viewer, Not Against Them
As placements evolve, creative formats are following suit. The traditional 30-second TVC still has its place, but it is no longer enough to drive engagement in a viewer-controlled environment. CTV is enabling formats that align more closely with how people actually watch content. Pause-screen ads, for instance, make use of natural viewing breaks, turning a passive moment into a subtle engagement opportunity. Contextual overlays can align messaging with what the viewer is browsing or watching, increasing relevance without disruption.
These formats work because they respect viewer intent. They don’t force attention, they align with it. This is where the CTV ad experience is clearly evolving. It is moving away from interruption-led formats toward experience-led advertising, where context, timing, and relevance matter as much as the creative itself. However, for these formats to reach their full potential, the ecosystem needs to work together. Platforms, OEMs, and advertisers must collaborate to ensure that ad experiences are not just innovative, but also receptive. Because better formats alone won’t solve ad fatigue better experiences will.
How CTV Is Opening Up TV Advertising
Among the key trends associated with CTV is increased accessibility. Television has always been an expensive channel for advertisements, with major players spending considerable amounts of money on it. However, CTV is changing that equation. Being offered more flexibility when it comes to purchasing media and enjoying enhanced targeting, regional and local businesses can now access television advertising and benefit from its unique opportunities to grow their business and gain brand awareness. This is important due to the fact that, in the contemporary world, the living room television remains the most effective means of reaching potential customers.
The Next Phase of CTV Monetisation
Ad fatigue is not a temporary challenge it is a signal of changing viewer expectations. Viewers today are not rejecting advertising altogether. They are moving away from experiences that feel irrelevant, repetitive, or disruptive. This is where the future of monetisation lies. Not in increasing ad loads, but in improving how ads are delivered. Not in increasing ad loads, but in improving how ads are delivered. Home screen ads, OEM integrations, and evolving creative formats are early indicators of this shift. Together, they point toward a more balanced ecosystem, one where advertising complements the viewing experience instead of competing with it. As India’s CTV landscape continues to grow, the focus will increasingly move toward seamless, contextual, and privacy-first advertising. Because in the end, the most effective ads won’t be the ones viewers are forced to watch but the ones they don’t mind experiencing.
Guest author Abhijeet Rajpurohit is the Co-founder and COO of Cloud TV, India’s first certified provider of Smart TV Operating System. Any opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author.
