JioHotstar carries the largest content library in Indian streaming, with 450 million active monthly users and content in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. You can buy display banners, pre roll video, mid roll video and connected TV video on it. Here is what each format does, and how a campaign gets planned and booked.
What you can buy on JioHotstar
Five ad options are sold through us. They do different jobs, and most plans use two of them together.
| Format | Where it appears | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|
| Display banner ads | Around the content, on the browse and player screens | Frequency and recall across a long campaign |
| Pre roll video ads | Before the content starts | Full attention on the opening of a viewing session |
| Mid roll video ads | Inside the content | Reach against viewers already committed to a long watch |
| Pre roll CTV video ads | Before the content, on the TV | The living room screen, more than one viewer |
| Mid roll CTV video ads | Inside the content, on the TV | Presence through a match or a full episode |
JioHotstar is bought on CPM. Your plan is counted in views delivered, not in seconds on air. That's the main planning difference from a spot buy.
Connected TV and mobile sit in the same buy
This is the part most brands underuse. One 30 second film can run on a phone on the Mumbai local. The same film can run on a 55 inch screen in a Pune living room. Both come from one campaign.
The two screens behave differently. Mobile viewing is personal and close, so a face or a product detail reads clearly. CTV viewing is shared. A family watches together in the evening, so the film reaches more people than the view count suggests. The audio is doing more work too. We usually put the brand film on CTV and the sharper product cut on mobile.
Who this suits
Any brand that needs national entertainment reach without buying a spot schedule. In practice we see four types of advertiser do well here.
Consumer brands launching in more than one state, where the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam audiences matter as much as Hindi and English. Real estate and education brands that want one city treated seriously rather than a thin national spread. App based businesses, because a CTV or mobile video that ends in a clear install prompt is a short path to a download. Established regional brands from Gujarat and Maharashtra do well too. They already advertise offline and want the same film working on a second screen.
How the targeting is set
The controls that matter are language, audience, ad format, reach and campaign duration. Language does most of the work. A Kochi based brand buys Malayalam. It gets an audience it can actually service. That's a stronger campaign than a national buy at the same weight.
Content category is the second control. JioHotstar sits in Entertainment, where the general audience is. The sports properties inside it draw a bigger crowd. Tell us which one you want and the plan changes shape.
How a campaign gets booked
We run this in six steps, and the first two are where the campaign is actually won.
1. Share your requirements. Talk to our planners about the audience, the market and the timing.
2. We build a campaign plan. We work out the target audience, the ad format, the reach and the campaign duration with you.
3. You get the quotation. Rates differ by platform, so the number comes after the plan.
4. Send us your creative. Image and video files are both accepted, and we convert them into the ad format the platform uses.
5. We go live. Your brand is on screen inside a short timeframe.
6. You get campaign reports. Delivery is reported back at regular intervals.
Step four catches people out more often than step three. A film cut for a cinema screen rarely works unchanged as a mid roll. A CTV cut needs the brand visible earlier than a mobile cut does. Send us the master file and we'll tell you what to change.
Where JioHotstar sits next to the other platforms we sell
It's one of 23 digital properties on our digital advertising list. ZEE5 and Amazon MX Player reach the same entertainment audience from different libraries. The news sites, the food delivery apps and Spotify catch people at other moments of the day.
Most plans we build aren't single platform. A JioHotstar video paired with a Swiggy or Zepto slot reaches the same person twice in one evening. If this is new to you, our guide to how OTT advertising works covers the wider picture first.
Frequently asked questions
What ad formats can I run on JioHotstar?
Five formats are sold through us. Display banner ads, pre roll video, mid roll video, pre roll CTV video and mid roll CTV video. Video carries sound and full attention, banners carry frequency, and the CTV versions place the same film on the television screen.
Which languages can I target?
Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Language is the most useful control on the platform, because it lets a regional brand buy only the audience it can serve.
What is the difference between a CTV ad and a mobile ad?
The film is the same, the screen is not. CTV serves to the connected television, where more than one person usually watches. Mobile serves to a phone or tablet, where viewing is personal and the viewer is close to the screen.
How is JioHotstar advertising bought?
On a CPM basis. The buy is counted in views delivered, not time on air. The plan sets language, audience, format and duration, and delivery is reported against those choices.
How long does it take to go live?
Once the plan is agreed and the creative is with us, going live is quick. The time goes earlier, into the language and audience mix and into getting the creative into the accepted ad format.
Talk to a planner
Tell us the market, the language and the month you want to be live. We'll come back with a JioHotstar plan built around it. Our planners work out of Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune.
Start here: JioHotstar advertising, or write to inquiry@excellentpublicity.com.