Connected TV is the new prime time
For decades, ‘Prime Time’ was a predictable window when families gathered in front of their televisions, and brands invested heavily to capture attention during those fixed hours. But the way we consume content has fundamentally changed. Today, prime time is no longer bound by schedules or programming blocks. It’s on-demand, fragmented, and increasingly dominated by one powerful medium: Connected TV (CTV).
CTV has overtaken traditional TV in terms of viewer preference. In India alone, over 120 million users are projected to consume content via CTV by the end of 2025. EY’s ‘A Studio Called India’ report also notes that India had already crossed 50 million connected TV sets in 2023, underscoring the accelerating shift.
The shift isn’t just about screen size; it’s about viewer mindset. CTV combines the lean-back experience of television with the targeting capabilities and interactivity of digital. For marketers, this means one thing: prime time hasn’t disappeared; it has simply evolved. In many ways, CTV has become the new prime time, not only in terms of reach but in influence, relevance, and responsiveness.
This shift also mirrors a broader global trend where digital streaming is overtaking linear TV consumption, driven by the viewer’s desire for flexibility and control. Audiences no longer wait for content; they choose what, when, and how to watch it.
From One Size Fits All to 1:1 Storytelling
Traditional TV gave brands just one shot, a single message broadcast to millions, hoping it would resonate. But today’s viewers expect relevance, and CTV delivers just that. With Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO), brands can now tailor ads based on location, weather, device, time, and behaviour. A household in Mumbai might get a monsoon-specific skincare ad, while one in Delhi sees a summer hydration offer, all within the same campaign. That’s the precision and power of CTV.
Studies from Innovid show that personalised CTV creatives drive 3x higher engagement and a 53% lift in purchase intent compared to standard ads. That’s not just incremental lift; it’s transformative. As a result, brands are beginning to approach CTV campaigns more like individualised conversations rather than mass broadcasts. The creative freedom CTV unlocks is changing how stories are told in advertising.
CTV Makes Viewers Participants, Not Just Spectators
One of the most transformative shifts CTV introduces is the move away from passive viewing. It invites real interaction, whether it’s scanning a QR code, responding to a poll with a remote, or browsing a product carousel directly on screen. Today, viewers can vote during a fashion ad or instantly download a recipe from a cookware commercial, making ads not just watchable, but actionable.
According to a Kantar Media study, interactive CTV formats generate up to 3x higher engagement than traditional linear TV ads. And this engagement isn’t a vanity metric. Every interaction, whether a click, a vote, or a scan, feeds into privacy-safe behavioural datasets that can optimise future messaging, targeting, and creative. This is the shift that matters most: from impressions to relationships. Audiences no longer just watch; they interact and often convert in real time.
Brand Awareness, Finally, With Accountability
One of the biggest myths of the past was that brand awareness and measurable performance couldn’t coexist. CTV has shattered that dichotomy. Today’s platforms allow marketers to track real-time metrics like view-through rates (VTR), completion-to-click ratios, and even post-view conversion actions. The IAB’s 2023 report found that 95% of advertisers using CTV said it met or exceeded KPIs for both brand building and measurable engagement.
That’s because CTV operates on a digital backbone. You don’t just know who saw the ad; you can measure what they did next. CTV allows marketers to optimise creative mid-campaign, avoid ad fatigue with frequency caps, and build smarter omnichannel journeys. This isn’t about trading off creativity for clicks. It’s about designing storytelling that’s informed, adaptive, and ultimately accountable.
Prime Time Is Now Personalized and Perpetual
Prime time isn’t at 8 PM anymore; it’s whenever the viewer hits play. It might be during a morning yoga session on YouTube, an evening family movie on a smart TV, or a late-night binge on an OTT app. Every moment a screen lights up is a new chance for brands to engage with their audience. This fragmentation is intimidating, but it’s also empowering. Because CTV allows brands to follow attention, not chase it.
To do that effectively, marketers must move from media-buying mindsets to experience design thinking. You’re not just placing an ad; you’re creating a moment.
The Future: Interactive. Measurable. Human
CTV is not a temporary fix for cord-cutting. It is the foundation of a new advertising era, one that values personalisation, accountability, and creativity in equal measure. Shoppable videos, gamified storytelling, and AI-powered creative variants – these aren’t fringe experiments anymore. They’re becoming table stakes. But to truly unlock their potential, marketers must stop repurposing old TVCs and start building for the medium. This means collaborating earlier with creative teams, leveraging real-time insights, and defining success not just in CPMs but in emotional connection and business outcomes.
Modern advertising isn’t just about reaching audiences; it’s about being relevant in the moments that matter.
About the author:
Amitt Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, VDO.AI