Video streaming services Netflix and YouTube take up nearly half of US bandwidth capacity at peak times, The Register reported today. Their findings were based on a Sandvine Intelligent Broadband Networks’ “Global Internet Phenomena Report: 1H 2013” report and show a huge increase in video streaming, and a reduction in BitTorrent traffic. As streaming is increasingly convenient, available on more devices, and selections grow ever larger, piracy is on the decline.
As of the first half of 2013, Netflix accounted for almost a third (32.5 percent) of downstream traffic on US fixed line networks, followed closely by YouTube (17.11 percent), according to the latest Sandvine Networks Internet Phenomena Report. Median monthly consumption jumped 56.5 per cent compared with the previous report, to 18.2GB per month.
BitTorrent’s share as a proportion of traffic continues to fall, with the pirated content file sharing technology accounting for a mere 5.57 per cent of downstream traffic.
Interestingly, the situation was different in Europe, where BitTorrent still accounted for 12.22 percent of down traffic, and Netflix didn’t appear in the top ten at all. HTTP took the top spot and YouTube came in second at 21.27 percent.
“In Europe, countries with lower Real-Time Entertainment share typically have higher Filesharing traffic, which leads us to believe that subscribers are likely using applications like BitTorrent to procure audio and video content not available in their region,” Sandvine wrote.
“We believe that Filesharing’s share of traffic may have finally reached its peak in terms of traffic share and will begin to experience a steady and significant decline, as paid OTT video services continue to expand their availability throughout the region.”
2 years ago, Netflix surpassed Bittorrent in the United States for the first time, gaining 24.71 percent versus BitTorrent’s 17.23 aggregate traffic. Now Youtube and Amazon have become major streaming contenders as well and Torrent traffic is on a major downslope.
[Via: The Register]