High-growth emerging markets are increasing Connected TV (CTV) ad spend at a much faster percentage rate than mature markets, even though mature regions like the US and Western Europe still command larger total budgets. This shift is fueled by rapid smart-TV adoption, mobile-first viewing, and programmatic-ready infrastructure, making countries such as India, Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, and others prime destinations for performance-driven CTV campaigns with Starti and similar platforms.(Edited on June 11, 2026)<\/p>\n
When high-growth emerging markets outpace mature markets in CTV, it means their CTV ad spend is rising faster year over year, often at double-digit rates, while growth in the US and Western Europe is slower due to saturation. Mature regions remain larger in absolute spend, but the marginal growth and future expansion are now concentrated in emerging economies. For advertisers, this signals a reallocation of opportunity: incremental CTV gains increasingly come from India, Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, and similar markets where streaming adoption and ad-supported models are scaling quickly. Platforms like Starti help brands capture this upside efficiently by focusing on measurable outcomes instead of impressions.<\/p>\n
Emerging markets are redefining global CTV growth by combining fast hardware and broadband adoption with mobile-first content habits and lower-cost digital infrastructure. Consumers who grew up on smartphones are rapidly upgrading to smart TVs, while telcos and device manufacturers bundle OTT services, driving CTV usage at scale. These markets often deliver lower average revenue per user but enormous reach, enabling advertisers to achieve disruptive CPMs across tens of millions of households. With Starti\u2019s AI-driven targeting and attribution, brands can treat these markets as performance channels, not experiments, turning rapid growth into predictable ROAS.<\/p>\n
India is emerging as a CTV powerhouse in 2026 due to explosive streaming adoption, a rising middle class, and an aggressive shift toward smart-TV ownership. Bollywood and regional content ecosystems, combined with live sports and ad-supported tiers, keep viewers engaged on large screens for longer sessions. As programmatic pipes, addressable TV, and performance-focused stacks mature, international and domestic brands can buy Indian CTV inventory with precise audience targeting and outcome-based pricing. Starti leverages SmartReach\u2122 AI and OmniTrack attribution in India to help advertisers pay only for real results, such as app installs and sales, instead of broad, unmeasured exposure.<\/p>\n
Brazil is shaping Latin America\u2019s CTV future by leading regional CTV ad-spend growth and acting as the primary testbed for new streaming formats. A large, young, and mobile-first population is rapidly abandoning pay TV and moving into free or low-cost ad-supported streaming environments. This shift creates premium inventory in sports, entertainment, and e-commerce-focused content where CTV can drive both branding and performance. Advertisers increasingly shift linear budgets into CTV, using platforms like Starti to scale across Brazil and neighboring LATAM markets while keeping ROAS and acquisition costs under tight control.<\/p>\n
Africa is becoming a CTV growth engine in early-adopter markets such as Nigeria, alongside other urbanizing hubs across the continent. Declining smart-TV prices, mobile broadband expansion, and a young, digitally native population are converging to create a new wave of big-screen streaming consumption. Because baseline CTV penetration is still relatively low, early entrants can establish strong share of voice, build brand equity, and define performance benchmarks before the market becomes crowded. Performance-driven solutions like Starti transform this early-stage environment into a predictable growth channel, turning perceived risk into measurable opportunity for app-first and commerce-focused brands.<\/p>\n
APAC continues to lead global CTV growth in relative terms, contributing a rising share of worldwide TV ad spend across markets such as India, Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Urbanization, streaming innovation, and mature digital payments fuel rapid adoption of ad-supported OTT and CTV environments across the region. North America still dominates in total spend, but APAC\u2019s higher growth rates are gradually tilting the long-term CTV trajectory toward Asia. Advertisers that harness cross-screen planning, advanced attribution, and AI optimization on platforms like Starti can compound performance across multiple APAC markets from a single, unified setup.<\/p>\n
Emerging and mature markets require different CTV strategies because they sit at different stages of adoption and saturation. In emerging regions, the priorities are reach, affordability, and rapid experimentation, with creative tailored to mobile-first, younger audiences and often localized in language and cultural cues. Brand awareness, top-of-funnel acquisition, and early conversion benchmarks play an outsized role. In mature markets like the US, UK, and Western Europe, advertisers focus on incremental lift, fine-grained targeting, and frequency management across already crowded media landscapes. Starti bridges these needs by blending AI personalization, regional supply depth, and outcome-based pricing, so brands can tailor strategy to both contexts while managing everything in one place.<\/p>\n
Brands can rely on CTV for measurable ROI in emerging markets when campaigns run through accountable, performance-focused platforms rather than pure impression buys. Emerging-market CTV often combines lower CPMs, high attention on big screens, and less competition, but measurement stacks are still maturing and fragmented. By using outcome-based pricing models\u2014paying only for installs, sign-ups, or purchases\u2014advertisers insulate themselves from waste and uncertainty. Starti\u2019s SmartReach\u2122 AI and OmniTrack attribution align spend directly with performance, giving marketers the same confidence in India, Brazil, or Nigeria that they expect in the US or EU.<\/p>\n
Marketers should rebalance budgets by protecting proven performance in mature markets while systematically increasing investment in high-growth emerging markets. A pragmatic approach is to keep a majority share of CTV budgets\u2014often 60\u201370%\u2014in established regions for reach, brand safety, and premium content alignment. The remaining 30\u201340% can be deployed as a growth engine across markets like India, Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, and others with strong streaming momentum. Running all markets through a unified platform such as Starti allows advertisers to standardize KPIs, compare acquisition costs, and optimize creative at scale, ensuring both stability and expansion.<\/p>\n
Data and privacy changes may reshape, but are unlikely to derail, CTV growth in emerging markets. Many of these countries are still building and refining data-protection frameworks, creating room for privacy-safe innovations like aggregated device-level targeting, cohort-based modeling, and outcome-centric attribution. While some ID-based methods may tighten over time, performance-focused, privacy-aware platforms are positioned to benefit as advertisers seek compliant, measurable options. Solutions like Starti already prioritize AI-powered modeling and consent-respecting signals over legacy cookie approaches, allowing brands to continue scaling CTV in line with evolving regulations.<\/p>\n
Recent projections highlight that some of the fastest-growing CTV advertising markets in 2026 include Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico, with year-over-year growth rates in the mid-20% range. The United States still leads in total spend, but comparatively slower growth underscores its maturity and higher saturation. Meanwhile, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, and Australia are showing strong, above-average CTV expansions driven by streaming adoption and programmatic modernization. This reshapes where incremental CTV dollars can generate the greatest returns.<\/p>\n
Below is a simplified view of select markets and projected 2026 CTV growth dynamics:<\/p>\n
| Market \/ Region<\/th>\n | Projected 2026 CTV Ad Spend (USD)<\/th>\n | Approx. YoY Growth Rate<\/th>\n | Primary Growth Driver<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico<\/td>\n | N\/A<\/td>\n | 23.7% \u2013 27.6%<\/td>\n | Mobile-first behaviors, cord-cutting, and rising broadband access<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Japan<\/td>\n | $1.00B<\/td>\n | 17.4%<\/td>\n | Adoption of ad-supported streaming tiers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| United Kingdom<\/td>\n | $3.25B<\/td>\n | 16.9%<\/td>\n | Expansion of Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) platforms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Canada<\/td>\n | $1.29B<\/td>\n | 16.0%<\/td>\n | Shift from search\/social to performance TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Global Average<\/td>\n | N\/A<\/td>\n | 13.8%<\/td>\n | Broad digital video expansion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| China<\/td>\n | $3.47B<\/td>\n | 11.5%<\/td>\n | Mature, high-penetration ecosystem<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Australia<\/td>\n | $1.19B<\/td>\n | 11.1%<\/td>\n | Programmatic modernization and stable inventory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For performance marketers, this table highlights where competition is intensifying and where early-mover advantages still exist, informing how and where to deploy CTV budgets over the next planning cycles.<\/p>\n How Are FAST and Retail Media Accelerating CTV Expansion?<\/h2>\nFree Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels and retail media networks are two of the most powerful accelerants of CTV growth worldwide. In the UK and Western Europe, audiences increasingly favor free, ad-supported viewing over subscription-only models, which multiplies the amount of addressable ad inventory and improves frequency control. At the same time, major retailers across North America and Europe are combining rich first-party shopper data with CTV surfaces, turning television into a closed-loop performance channel where ROAS can be tracked and optimized down to product-level outcomes. Starti integrates seamlessly into this trend by focusing on outcome-based buying that aligns CTV exposure with measurable conversions.<\/p>\n What Are the Key Drivers Behind Global CTV Momentum?<\/h2>\nSeveral structural forces underpin CTV\u2019s global rise and the outperformance of high-growth markets:<\/p>\n
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