It finally had to happen – a new study from global research company Sandvine announced that for the first time, Netflix has passed youtube in worldwide Internet traffic.
The information comes with the startling news that streaming and short-form video is driving a boom in Internet use around the world. How much increase? Total 23 percent in traffic. Sandvine also shared that six companies are responsible for all internet traffic.
These companies include Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple, Netflix and Microsoft. Google and Netflix share the highest volumes. Sameer Marwaha, chief solutions officer at Sandvine, pointed out that COVID had a big role to play in changing the status quo.
“After the historic COVID-driven Internet traffic surges of 2020 and 2021, application usage and volume seem to remain the ‘new normal’. The rapid acceleration of digitization has led to an increased reliance on applications and a rapid evolution towards more sophisticated apps that combine multiple functions and features at once.
The main driving force in this equation is video. According to the company’s findings, video grew 24 percent last year and now accounts for 65 percent of all traffic on the Internet. Netflix generates the most traffic, a coveted spot previously occupied by YouTube. Apps like TikTok, Disney Plus and Hulu are also in the top ten most traffic generating apps.
Marwaha said, “Video has almost reached the point where it can no longer be considered a standalone category, as it is now an integral part of conferencing, gaming, social networking, messaging and virtually all apps that want to drive conversation and engagement.” integral part.”
That’s good news for Netflix, a company that’s had its fair share of growth issues over the past year. Time will tell whether this is a temporary boon for the company or something that lasts longer.