Brexit debates cause 300% spike in streaming traffic
September 9, 2019
Last week saw moments of high drama in the UK House of Commons as Parliament returned from its summer recess. According to data analysis from Limelight Networks, the extraordinary political events caused significant Internet traffic spikes as people streamed the major moments of the day.
On September 3rd, Limelight saw 343 per cent increase in live streaming data traffic compared to typical levels of traffic. Similarly, on September 4th Limelight also saw a 75 per cent increase related to simultaneous live streaming of video traffic relating to the parliamentary debates. These spikes coincided with the announcements in Parliament of the results of the votes on the no-deal bill and the attempt to call a snap general election.
Commenting on the spike in Brexit live streaming, Steve Miller-Jones, Vice President Product Strategy, Limelight Networks said: “With the nature of UK politics at the moment, we’re seeing significant spikes in traffic as the public tune in at work and on the go to the near unprecedented events that are taking place. The topsy-turvy nature of events poses a challenge to broadcasters and their content delivery strategy in that they cannot necessarily be planned for.
“The increased traffic being seen shows that it isn’t just the latest original series or live event that broadcasters need to be prepared for, political affairs also has its water-cooler moments and people want to experience them in real time. As more and more news content is consumed digitally, broadcasters must consider how this is delivered to viewers so that service issues don’t become part of the story. We take our role in this very seriously and are pleased that our infrastructure allowed the British public to engage in the debate as it happened,” he concluded.