MAM
Cloudtv gives ads a new dimension with India’s first 3D CTV formats
MUMBAI: Forget skipping ads now you might just stop and stare. Cloudtv, India’s first certified Smart TV OS, has switched on a bold new innovation in Connected TV: 3D Ad-Units. Rolled out across its OS-powered devices, the new format promises to shake up how brands pop on screen, offering advertisers a premium, non-intrusive showcase that sticks in the mind.
Already powering 250-plus smart TV brands and reaching over 12 million users across Tier 1, 2 and 3 markets, Cloudtv is no stranger to scale. But with India’s Connected TV market projected to hit 25 million households by 2026, the company is betting that immersive, attention-grabbing formats will be the next frontier of advertising.
Early tests suggest the gamble is paying off. In a collaboration with Aiyo, an AI-first content studio, Cloudtv deployed its 3D ads for nutrition brand Myfitness. The result? A 25 per cent higher completion rate compared to regular masthead video ads proof that audiences are more likely to stick with the story when the visuals literally stand out.
For advertisers, the appeal is clear: a unique inventory that elevates campaigns beyond the flat, forgettable formats of traditional TV spots. For viewers, the difference lies in ads that engage without feeling like interruptions, creating a sleek, cinematic environment instead of clutter.
Addressing this strategic announcement, Cloudtv COO and co-founder Abhijeet Rajpurohit said, “The launch of 3D ads positions Cloudtv at the forefront of CTV innovation, catering to the growing demand for premium, high-impact advertising solutions. As brands look for new ways to differentiate their messaging and drive deeper engagement, Cloudtv’s 3D ad inventory offers a compelling alternative that stands out in the CTV advertising space.”
This isn’t the company’s only power play. Cloudtv has also rolled out a dedicated CTV advertising platform and struck a partnership with Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the world’s largest independent sell-side ad company, to bring global heft to its marketplace. Alongside, a new website for brands, agencies and buyers now lets partners browse inventory, audience insights and campaign opportunities in one place.
By pushing beyond the limits of flat formats, Cloudtv is essentially opening a new dimension in CTV advertising, one where brand storytelling is immersive, measurable, and hard to ignore. In a screen space that’s heating up fast, the platform may just have given itself the 3D edge.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
