What brings advertisers to TV in 2025?

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with my mother about my father's friend's daughter, Oshin. I had always wondered why she had such a unique name. Then my mother mentioned that they were probably inspired by the Japanese television show Oshin, which used to air on Doordarshan in the 90s; so famous during her youth that entire neighbourhoods would gather to watch it. Such is the power of television: it didn't just entertain, it shaped life decisions, including what parents named their children.

My own childhood in the 2000s had similar moments. I am reminded of rushing home from school to catch up on my favourite comedy shows on Sab TV, the Airtel AR Rahman tune that became synonymous with connection, and entire neighbourhoods coming together during India-Pakistan cricket matches. For millions of Indians who grew up in the 2000s, television wasn't just a medium. It's where we learned the Happydent White glow-in-the-dark jingle, debated Indian Idol results with friends, and watched Amitabh Bachchan ask "Kya aap paanchvi pass se tez hain?" on Kaun Banega Crorepati.

But television's advertising legacy stretches back much further. From the iconic Liril waterfall ad featuring Karen Lunel that defined freshness for a generation in the 1980s, to the Fevicol campaigns that made even furniture adhesive memorable through humour, to the Dhara Jalebi ad, where a little boy was won back by the promise of homemade jalebis. Indian television advertising has consistently delivered moments that transcend commerce to become part of our collective memory.

Television's journey as an advertising platform began in 1978 when the first TV commercials aired on Doordarshan, simple and product-focused but far-reaching in their ability to show products in action with sound and motion inside people's homes. Brands like Gwalior Suitings and Dalda were early adopters, but the real explosion came in the 1980s.

Shows like Hum Log in 1984 and the iconic Ramayan in 1987, and Mahabharat in 1988 brought the entire country to a standstill, with brands flocking to sponsor these shows. This era gave us Maggi's ‘2-Minute Noodles’ promise that built an entirely new food category and the Vicco Turmeric jingle that an entire generation can still sing from memory.

The 1991 economic liberalisation changed everything. The entry of private channels like Zee TV and Star TV broke Doordarshan's monopoly, creating more ad slots, niche audiences, and creative freedom. This was when Indian advertising found its unique voice under creative legends like Piyush Pandey, moving away from Western mimicry to embrace emotional, Hindi-speaking narratives that spoke directly to the aspirations of a rising middle class.

Why TV still commands advertiser confidence

Fast forward to 2025, and the media landscape looks dramatically different. According to an EY report, India now has 562 million active smartphones with over a billion telecom subscriptions, 945 million of which are broadband-capable. Fifty-seven OTT platforms operate in India, with 91% offering both subscription and ad-supported options, providing an attractive aggregation of free content. Online reach has grown to 524 million, now 70% of television's reach of 754 million.

Yet television hasn't been displaced. Sandeep Gupta, Chief Operating Officer of Broadcasting Business at Shemaroo Entertainment Limited, explains the enduring appeal. "Television continues to be India's most influential advertising platform because of one undeniable fact: no other medium delivers both scale and certainty at the same time. In 2025, TV reaches 650+ million weekly viewers, commands 3+ hours of daily time spent per user, and remains present in every second household across the country."

The numbers support this. While pay TV homes declined by 40 million from 151 million in 2018 to 111 million in 2024, this doesn't tell the complete story. Indian TV homes have reached 190 million, with connected TV homes growing to around 30 million weekly active sets and Free TV connections estimated at 49 million. The medium has transformed rather than diminished.

For brands seeking mass awareness, particularly in categories like FMCG, automotive, smartphones, BFSI, e-commerce, fashion, and retail, television offers something digital cannot replicate uniformly: the family-viewing environment. 

Pawan Jagnik, Head of Marketing-India at Pladis Global (McVities), emphasises this unique advantage. “TV offers a unique advantage in terms of family viewing; it is a shared, undistracted consumption environment, unlike mobile, which is individualistic and prone to constant scrolling. The larger screen further enhances impact and recall. For these reasons, TV continues to play an essential role in our media mix, working alongside digital rather than being replaced by it.”

Regional reach and the trust factor

Perhaps television's most significant advantage lies in its penetration of markets where digital adoption remains limited. Jagnik points out that TV reaches regions like parts of Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast, and Andhra Pradesh, where cable television remains dominant. 

According to a recent Ormax report, India still has nearly three television viewers for every one person watching OTT content, with most streaming platforms remaining focused on metro audiences while TV continues as the primary source of household entertainment in rural India.

This regional strength translates directly into budget allocation strategies. "It depends entirely on the objective," Jagnik explains. "If we need mass reach or want to cover remote markets, TV can take up to 70% of the budget. But in metros like Delhi NCR, where digital consumption is stronger, the mix shifts toward digital. TV remains crucial for mass awareness, while digital drives engagement and mobile-led conversations."

The decision isn't about choosing TV over digital. It's about leveraging each medium's strengths strategically based on geography and campaign goals.

Rohin Desai, Chief Client Officer for Media Buying at Madison World, adds that TV's penetration in regional markets gives it an edge where other mediums are still catching up. 

He notes, “TV is still the best medium for brands that would want to reach out to Rural areas and Tier II towns and digital works well with TV in terms of providing incremental reach. It is used by brands primarily for national launches or re – re-launches.” 

In categories such as FMCG and e-commerce, TV is often deployed due to competitive pressure to capture the mindspace of customers.

"TV is considered trustworthy by customers and hence they tune into TV for credible information," Desai explains. "It offers brands screen space for good storytelling, which is not possible across other mediums."

This credibility factor becomes particularly important when brands need to establish legitimacy and trust quickly at scale. It's the differentiation of large screen versus small screen that builds loyalty among advertisers who return to the medium year after year.

Justifying ROI in a performance-driven era

The question of return on investment has become more critical as marketing budgets face increasing scrutiny. Television ad volumes in India dropped by 10% during January-September 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to TAM AdEx. Yet over 6,100 advertisers and 9,700 brands remained active on television during these nine months, suggesting that despite declining volumes, TV remains essential for reaching consumers effectively.

Gupta addresses the measurement challenge, "What sustains long-term advertiser confidence is the predictability of outcomes. TV operates with established CPRP benchmarks, mature reach–frequency curves, and BARC's weekly measurement across 40,000+ meters, giving marketers transparent, industry-standard metrics."

He emphasises that in multiple categories, there's a direct correlation between TV weight and sales uplift, especially in Tier II and Tier III markets where TV remains the primary discovery medium. The family-viewing environment, being culturally safe, high-attention, and deeply habitual, further strengthens brand association and recall. 

At Shemaroo Entertainment, in-program integrations, on-screen cues, and character-led narratives are designed to drive both recall and action, supported by post-campaign analytics that help brands quantify impact.

Jagnik describes McVities' measurement approach, stating that they compare awareness levels before and after campaigns through independent research agencies and analyse performance by running TV in some geographies and digital in others, then comparing differences in sales or consumption. 

"Ultimately, the strongest validation comes from sales," he states. "If the numbers move in the right direction, it confirms that both the creative and the media choices are working."

Despite overall volume declines, categories linked to household cleaning, e-commerce, and beverages showed resilience in 2025. TAM's report states that the Food and Beverage sector dominated, accounting for 21% of total ad volumes. Hindustan Unilever Limited remained the top advertiser on television, followed by Reckitt Benckiser (India) and Godrej Consumer Products. The top 10 advertisers contributed 42% of total TV ad volumes, with Nestlé India and Star India entering the list this year. Toilet and Floor Cleaners recorded the highest growth at 18%, while e-commerce (Online Shopping) grew by 25%. 

Desai notes, “In the current market scenario, pricing has remained stable, and currently marketers are not seeing pressures of rising CPRPs.” However, he acknowledges that marketers increasingly expect better ROI and measurement systems for TV to justify spending, which is becoming a challenge that the industry must address. 

Major events such as IPL, World Cup, and reality shows continue to drive viewership and budgets toward both linear and connected TV. In fact, post the Women’s World Cup win this November, which drew over 60 million viewers in the first 13 matches, experts believe that the tournament could see a 30-40% sponsorship uplift. This shows that premium content creates value and remains an efficient medium to reach customers.

Addressable TV and what comes next

The future of television advertising in India isn't about traditional linear TV versus digital but about convergence. According to a GroupM report (now WPP Media), addressable advertising through Connected TV represented 9.8% of total TV advertising revenue in 2023, approximately ₹45 billion in ad revenue. By 2026, the report expects 16% of TV ad spend to be devoted to addressable TV products and services on connected TVs. Over the next five years, TV advertising in India is anticipated to experience a 10% CAGR growth, with Connected TV advertising expected to surge at a 31% CAGR.

The survey found that 47% of households possess a Smart TV, and among these, 65% rely on Smart TVs as their primary device for television viewing. Devices with higher levels of engagement offer an effective way of reaching consumers, making advertising delivered via Connected TV much more likely to be seen.

"Connected TV currently has around 170 million users and remains concentrated in metros, but it's becoming increasingly important for targeted and customised media planning," Jagnik observes. "It offers sharper audience segmentation and aligns well with changing consumer behaviour driven by rising digital and broadband penetration. While it's hard to predict how quickly the shift will accelerate in the next one to two years, CTV is set to play a significant role and is likely to become a major part of the media landscape over time."

Desai confirms that CTV, interactive formats, and programmatic buying are influencing planning and performance expectations for marketers who are now looking to scale their investments in these formats for better ROI and reaching the right audience for their brands. Acknowledging the significance of engaging with cord-cutters and cord-nevers, who are difficult to reach yet highly involved audiences, has become imperative for agencies planning media strategies.

The government is also working to improve the ecosystem, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting drawing up new guidelines for television rating agencies and exploring ways to improve the television rating system to ensure fair revenue distribution to channels from government advertisements.

Gupta believes, "India's media landscape is expanding, not fragmenting. Digital brings depth; TV brings scale. When advertisers combine the two strategically, they unlock the fastest and most cost-efficient path to national reach. And in that equation, Television remains the single most reliable, accountable and culturally powerful foundation on which campaigns are built."

From the Maggi noodles that promised convenience in two minutes to the Airtel tune that made a ringtone iconic, television has always been about more than just reaching audiences; it's about becoming part of their lives. As the medium evolves with connected capabilities, addressable targeting, and interactive formats, that truth remains unchanged. The screen may be getting smarter, but television remains a vital platform for brands in India, supported by its extensive reach, established credibility, and enduring influence on popular culture.