The shift in regional content consumption has transformed digital advertising on platforms like Disney+ Hotstar. Viewership in regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam has skyrocketed, thanks to popular reality shows and blockbuster movies. To meet the rising demand, over two-thirds of new titles on Disney+ Hotstar are now dubbed in multiple languages, expanding the platform’s reach across diverse Indian audiences.
Recent surveys also highlight shifting consumer behaviors, particularly among Gen Z and women, who plan to increase their spending by an impressive 47% this festive season. As the demand for personalized digital experiences grows, innovative ad solutions like hyper-targeted ads and pause ads have become indispensable for brands. Connected TV (CTV) advertising is becoming especially relevant as regional brands move toward digital avenues to amplify their visibility.
To explore the growing influence of regional content on advertising, MediaNews4U spoke with Dhruv Dhawan, Head of Ads at Disney+ Hotstar, who shared insights into how the platform is adapting to this evolving landscape.
Rising Regional Viewership and Impact on Ad Revenue
Dhawan revealed the impressive uptick in regional content consumption, particularly for Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam programs. Shows like Bigg Boss Tamil and blockbuster films such as Avesham and Salar are setting viewership records. “In the last 12-18 months, two-thirds of our new titles have been dubbed in languages beyond Tamil, expanding our audience reach,” he noted. The trend reflects the growing popularity of South Indian content among Hindi-speaking audiences, with about half of the Hindi audience engaging in these regional offerings.
While revenue specifics were not disclosed, Dhawan emphasized that the increasing viewership showcases a strong potential trajectory for regional content, which is creating an encouraging environment for advertisers.
Evolving Consumer Sentiment: Highlights from the Festive Survey
Dhawan shared valuable insights from Disney+ Hotstar’s recent festive survey. Notably, there’s a surge in consumer spending intent, with an average increase of ₹25,000 in projected expenses compared to previous years. “Women and Gen Z are at the forefront of this spending spike, with key interest in categories like clothing, electronics, and beauty,” Dhawan observed.
The survey’s findings reinforce Disney+ Hotstar’s strategic focus on these demographics and align well with the audience’s growing preference for digital shopping. The platform will use these insights to fine-tune advertising packages, ensuring resonance with these high-impact consumer segments.
Regional Brands Are Turning to CTV Advertising
CTV advertising is becoming an increasingly useful channel for regional brands that want to move beyond traditional television while retaining the reach and impact of premium video content. Connected TV allows advertisers to reach audiences watching streaming content on smart TVs and other connected devices, while offering greater flexibility in audience, geographic and content-based targeting.
For regional advertisers, this creates an opportunity to build campaigns around specific markets, languages and consumer groups rather than relying only on broad national television audiences. A brand targeting Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana can build a campaign around the viewing preferences and content consumption patterns of those markets.
The growth of JioHotstar has further expanded the opportunity. The platform currently offers advertisers audience targeting, content targeting and more than 1,000 pre-built audience cohorts through its self-serve advertising platform. Its CTV offering also includes formats such as CTV Billboards, Pause Ads, Spot Ads and contextual advertising.
Innovations Tailored for South Indian Brands
Recognizing the uniqueness of the South Indian market, Disney+ Hotstar has implemented features like hyper-targeted ads and in-show brand integrations. These allow brands to craft regional messaging, resulting in more effective and memorable campaigns. For example, the show Cooku with Comali integrated eight sponsors, while Bigg Boss Malayalam featured 13, providing advertisers with organic opportunities to connect with their audiences.
“Pause ads are another standout product, offering brands visibility during natural breaks,” Dhawan said, noting that the feature has received positive feedback from FMCG and retail brands. Innovations like the Breakout Billboard format on mobile devices also cater to local markets, enhancing brand recall through dynamic visuals.
Digital Versus Traditional: What Sets Disney+ Hotstar Apart?
To highlight the difference between digital and traditional media advertising, Dhawan shared insights into Disney+ Hotstar’s approach. “With shows like Bigg Boss Tamil, we provide a 24-hour feed on Disney+ Hotstar, allowing viewers to stay up-to-date in real-time, which is a level of flexibility traditional TV can’t match,” Dhawan explained.
Brand partnerships extend beyond static ad placements, integrating directly into shows like Upupuli Karam, where a scene with Jayachandra Textiles effectively increased foot traffic to the store. Similarly, the beauty brand Dazzler was embedded into the storyline of Hotstar Specials Heart Beat, allowing organic product placement that resonates with viewers.
Spotlighting Pause Ads and Other Metrics of Success
Innovative ad formats like Pause Ads, particularly popular with FMCG brands, have reshaped viewer engagement. This feature draws attention during natural breaks, and early feedback indicates that advertisers see promising levels of engagement. Disney+ Hotstar also measures ad effectiveness through metrics like reach, click-through rates, and view-through rates (VTR), while offering Brand Lift Studies to track ad impact.
“Many regional advertisers, particularly in sectors like jewelry and personal care, value the edge these innovations offer, allowing them to stand out in competitive markets,” Dhawan noted.
Why CTV Advertising Matters for Regional Brands
Regional brands often face a different advertising challenge from national brands. Their priority may be to build strong awareness within a particular state, language market, city or consumer segment rather than reach the entire country.
CTV advertising can help address this challenge by combining the visual impact of television with the targeting capabilities associated with digital advertising. Instead of purchasing broad inventory without audience flexibility, advertisers can use audience and content signals to build campaigns around specific consumer groups.
This makes CTV particularly relevant for categories such as retail, jewellery, real estate, education, healthcare, FMCG, automobiles, restaurants and local consumer services.
Regional Language Content Is Creating New Advertising Opportunities
The growth of regional-language entertainment is creating additional opportunities for advertisers looking to connect with audiences through culturally relevant content. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada content can provide brands with a more contextual environment for reaching consumers in specific language markets.
JioHotstar has continued to invest heavily in South Indian content. In December 2025, Reuters reported that JioHotstar planned to invest ₹4,000 crore over five years in acquiring and producing South Indian content across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The investment reflects the growing strategic importance of regional audiences and content in India’s streaming ecosystem.
For advertisers, this means regional content can become more than an entertainment destination. It can provide a contextual environment in which brands can build awareness among audiences that share common language, cultural and geographic characteristics.
JioHotstar CTV Advertising Formats for Regional Brands
JioHotstar offers multiple advertising formats that can be used to build campaigns across connected TV and digital viewing environments. The most relevant options for brands include:
CTV Billboards
CTV Billboards are designed specifically for the large-screen viewing environment and can provide high-impact brand visibility during premium content. They are useful for advertisers looking to build awareness and strengthen brand recall.
Pause Ads
Pause Ads allow brands to appear when viewers pause content. The format creates a natural advertising moment without requiring the brand to interrupt the main video experience. JioHotstar’s current CTV playbook highlights Pause Ads as one of its CTV formats and reports a 17% higher purchase-intent result for Himalaya’s campaign using the format.
Spot Ads
Spot Ads provide brands with video advertising opportunities within premium content environments. They can be used when the objective is to achieve broad visibility and high share of voice.
Contextual Advertising
Contextual advertising allows brands to align campaigns with relevant content or audience segments. This can be particularly useful for regional advertisers because the campaign can be designed around specific consumer interests, markets or content environments.
How Regional Brands Can Use CTV Targeting
A regional CTV campaign can be structured around several targeting considerations:
Geography: Focus campaigns on specific states, cities or markets where the brand operates.
Language: Align advertising with the language preferences of the target audience.
Audience: Use demographic, behavioural or interest-based audience segments.
Content: Place campaigns around relevant genres, shows, sports or entertainment environments.
Time: Schedule campaigns around periods when the target audience is most likely to be watching.
Combining these signals can help regional advertisers avoid unnecessary national-level exposure and focus their media investment on audiences that are more relevant to the business.
CTV vs Traditional TV for Regional Advertising
Traditional television continues to provide significant reach, but CTV introduces additional flexibility for advertisers. Traditional TV campaigns are generally planned around channels, programmes, markets and time slots, whereas CTV can incorporate audience and content targeting along with digital measurement.
For regional brands, the difference can be particularly important. A business operating primarily in one state or a group of cities may not need nationwide television exposure. CTV can provide an alternative approach by allowing advertisers to concentrate their campaigns on relevant markets and audiences.
CTV also provides access to digital campaign metrics such as impressions, reach, video completion and other performance indicators, depending on the campaign setup and advertising platform.
How Small and Regional Businesses Can Enter CTV Advertising
CTV advertising is no longer limited exclusively to large national advertisers. JioHotstar’s self-serve advertising platform provides smaller businesses and advertisers with tools to plan campaigns, explore packages, forecast reach and impressions, and manage campaigns. The platform also provides access to more than 1,000 pre-built audience cohorts.
This creates an opportunity for regional businesses to test CTV advertising with focused campaigns before expanding into larger markets.
For example, a jewellery brand operating in Kerala could focus on Malayalam-speaking audiences, while a retailer in Tamil Nadu could build a campaign around Tamil-language content and relevant consumer segments. The same approach can be adapted for regional real estate developers, education providers, healthcare brands and retail businesses.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Regional CTV Campaigns
One of the major advantages of CTV advertising is the ability to combine high-impact video with measurable campaign data.
Advertisers can evaluate campaigns using metrics such as:
- Reach
- Impressions
- Video completion rate
- View-through rate
- Click-through rate
- Audience frequency
- Brand lift
- Purchase intent
JioHotstar’s current CTV advertising material also highlights campaign measurement and brand-lift studies as part of its advertising ecosystem.
For regional brands, measurement becomes especially useful because advertisers can compare campaign performance across different markets, audience segments and content environments.
Regional CTV Advertising Is Moving Beyond Awareness
CTV is increasingly being used not only to generate awareness but also to support broader marketing objectives. Regional advertisers can combine CTV with search, social media, retail marketing and other digital channels to create a connected customer journey.
For example, a brand may use CTV to introduce a product to a regional audience, social media to generate engagement, and search advertising to capture consumers who subsequently look for the product online.
This makes CTV particularly valuable as part of an integrated media strategy rather than as an isolated advertising channel.
The Future of Regional CTV Advertising in India
The future of regional CTV advertising will be shaped by the continued growth of connected television, regional content, audience targeting and measurable video advertising. As streaming platforms invest in local-language programming and advertisers become more comfortable with data-driven video campaigns, regional brands are likely to have more opportunities to reach audiences outside traditional television environments.
JioHotstar’s continued investment in regional content and its development of CTV-specific advertising formats demonstrate how the market is moving toward more targeted and measurable premium video advertising.
For regional advertisers, the opportunity is not simply to reach more viewers. It is to reach the right viewers, in the right market, alongside relevant content and through an advertising environment that combines television-scale impact with digital targeting capabilities.
Building a Digital Advertising Ecosystem for Regional Brands
To support regional brands and agencies, Disney+ Hotstar runs roadshows and training sessions. Currently, the team is conducting a roadshow in Madurai, offering advertisers a deep dive into digital advertising opportunities on the platform.
Disney+ Hotstar’s self-service platform also appeals to smaller brands, with affordable budgets starting at ₹50,000 for entertainment. Dhawan expressed optimism about the positive response, with features like spot buys gaining traction, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where brands are increasingly leveraging CTV for enhanced engagement.
Flexible Brand Integration Options
Dhawan described three primary options for brands looking to advertise on Disney+ Hotstar:
- Sponsorship: Top-tier association that includes logo integration and ad placements.
- In-show Integrations: Seamlessly embedding brand products into show narratives.
- Co-branded Vignettes: Featuring characters interacting with brands during ad breaks.
These options allow brands to reach audiences in a way that feels organic, adding value to both advertisers and viewers.
Conclusion
Dhawan is confident that Disney+ Hotstar’s innovative ad solutions are well-positioned to support regional brands in reaching their audiences effectively. “We’re creating a comprehensive digital advertising ecosystem, empowering advertisers with the tools they need to succeed,” he said. With increasing viewership, evolving ad formats, and targeted education for brands, Disney+ Hotstar continues to redefine the landscape of digital advertising in India.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CTV advertising for regional brands?
CTV advertising allows regional brands to reach audiences watching streaming content on connected televisions and other internet-enabled devices. Campaigns can be planned around geographic, audience and content requirements.
Can regional brands advertise on JioHotstar?
Yes. JioHotstar provides advertising solutions for brands and offers audience and content targeting options. Its self-serve platform provides access to audience cohorts and campaign planning tools.
Can CTV advertising target specific cities or states?
CTV campaigns can be planned with geographic targeting depending on the platform, inventory and campaign setup. This makes CTV relevant for regional brands that operate in selected markets.
Is CTV advertising better than traditional TV for regional brands?
CTV is not necessarily a replacement for traditional television. However, it offers additional targeting, flexibility and measurement capabilities that can be valuable for regional campaigns.
What CTV ad formats are available on JioHotstar?
JioHotstar’s CTV advertising offering includes formats such as CTV Billboards, Pause Ads, Spot Ads and contextual advertising.
Which industries can benefit from regional CTV advertising?
Retail, jewellery, real estate, FMCG, healthcare, education, automotive, hospitality, financial services and other consumer-facing businesses can use regional CTV advertising to reach relevant audiences.
How much does CTV advertising cost in India?
CTV advertising costs vary based on audience, geography, platform, inventory, campaign duration, format and targeting requirements. Advertisers should evaluate the available inventory and campaign objective before setting a media budget.
How can a regional brand start a CTV campaign?
A regional brand should begin by defining its target market, audience, campaign objective and budget. The advertiser can then select suitable CTV inventory, targeting options and creative formats before launching and measuring the campaign.
