70% of Traffic Video/Audio; Netflix Twice as Popular as YouTube
Broadband network solutions provider Sandvine released a report on network traffic today, and the findings show the rapid increase of video and audio streaming. Audio and video now makes up over 70 percent of all downstream traffic in North America during primetime hours for fixed access networks. Contrast that with 5 years ago, when it made up less than 35 percent of such traffic.
Where is all that video coming from? Much of it is from Netflix, the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) leader. Sandvine says that Netflix accounted for 37.1 percent of that traffic, followed by YouTube (17.9 percent), and Amazon Video (3.1 percent). Those three are the leaders in video traffic on North American fixed access networks, and all saw their percentages increase from earlier this year.
One source of traffic on the decline is BitTorrent. Last year it made up over seven percent of total traffic in North America. This year, it makes up five percent. Perhaps the rise of SVODs and easier access to premium video has made torrenting a less attractive option.
In 2015, Netflix has a greater share of internet traffic than all streaming video and audio did five years ago, notes Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo.
For more, view the full report, Global Internet Phenomena Report: Africa, Middle East, and North America, for free (registration required).
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