While I watched what is being panned as a boring fight and a setup for all to see, all I could think about was how much extra traffic Netflix would be creating on our networks with this live special event.
Netflix viewing patterns are pretty set in stone, as we get home and start to wind down, viewing picks up.
Our Telcos and Internet providers know this, they see it in their own traffic monitoring.
But have a look at this graph, provided to EFTM by Aussie Broadband.
What you see here are 12 days of pretty predictable traffic. You can see it peak each night – every night.
But then there’s a difference, on Saturday.
According to an Aussie Broadband spokesperson, “The Paul vs Tyson fight proved especially popular on the weekend, with our Netflix traffic increasing to over 3x what Aussie customers would ordinarily watch on the streaming service each night.”
It’s so fascinating to see in a graph too – because the fight was during the afternoon Australian time, the Tyson v Paul fight peak stands out on its own, and is followed that evening by the usual weekend peak (which is slightly higher than weekdays)
Three times more traffic than a normal evening peak doesn’t mean three times the viewers though, but it would be pretty close, and if Netflix did reduce the stream quality to allow their network to cope, the actual viewer numbers would be even higher.
So there you go, clearly a success for Netflix.
Just not for boxing.
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.
