PubMatic has published research on connected TV co-viewing in Asia-Pacific, finding that shared viewing is linked to higher ad attention and action.
The report is based on a survey of 3,500 consumers in Australia, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. It explores how people watch video together across the region and where those habits are most concentrated.
The findings show that 78% of co-viewing in APAC takes place on connected TV. These sessions are most common on weekend evenings, especially Saturdays, with peaks from 5pm to 9pm and 9pm to 11pm.
PubMatic's data suggests shared viewing creates stronger conditions for advertising than solo viewing. Among respondents, 42% said they pay more attention to ads when watching with others, 53% said they recall brands more effectively, and 70% said they are more likely to take action after seeing an advert.
The survey also found that 44% reported a stronger emotional response to content and advertising during co-viewing, while 43% said they discuss or react to adverts during the viewing moment itself. Family programming, films, television series and live events were the content types most likely to attract group audiences.
CTV focus
The findings come as advertisers across the region seek better ways to measure attention and outcomes in streaming environments. Connected TV inventory has drawn growing interest from media buyers looking for alternatives to traditional broadcast television and mobile-led digital campaigns.
PubMatic says the data supports a broader role for programmatic buying on connected TV, particularly for advertisers seeking premium inventory during predictable viewing windows. It cited visibility over placements, costs and audience delivery as part of the appeal of automated trading.
The report also presents connected TV as more than a brand awareness channel. By linking co-viewing with brand recall, discussion and post-exposure action, the research argues that shared-screen environments can support performance-driven campaigns as well as broad reach.
Regional detail
In Southeast Asia, one key measure came in above the regional average. PubMatic found that 73% of co-viewers in the subregion were more likely to act after ad exposure, compared with the APAC average of 70%.
Co-viewing in Southeast Asia was also slightly more spontaneous than in the wider region, with 41% of shared viewing described that way versus an APAC average of 40%. That pattern matters for automated buying systems because it suggests audiences form in real time around shared content.
For media planners, the practical implication is that audience concentration may be less fragmented than on mobile devices, where viewing is often solo and habitual. In a connected TV setting, households can gather around a single screen at recurring times, creating larger collective audiences within a single ad break.
The research comes as ad technology groups compete to show that programmatic tools can serve television budgets as well as online display and video spending. Live sport and other appointment-viewing formats remain a particular focus because they can deliver large audiences in narrow time windows.
PubMatic said its connected TV offering includes access to live inventory and targeting by genre and specific viewing moments. These claims form part of a broader push by ad tech intermediaries to persuade buyers that streaming television can combine scale with measurable outcomes.
Luke Smith, Senior Director CTV, APAC at PubMatic, said: "The findings show APAC to be high-intensity co-viewing markets where CTV-led programmatic strategies can unlock outsized emotional engagement and conversion potential. When advertisers align their buying strategies to co-viewing behaviors - accounting for everything from timing and content genre to device choice - they can access premium moments that consistently drive stronger recall and meaningful post-ad action."