No, The Internet Isn't Broken
On Sunday, close to 4 million people streamed the Super Bowl on CBS, while almost 112 million watched via the traditional set top box. (That’s about 3.5% streaming, 96.5% traditional, if you’re keeping score.)And while the streaming experience wasn’t perfect—lots of people reported having problems getting online—it wasn’t as painful as it has been in previous years. As an added bonus, streaming viewers even got to see the famed Super Bowl commercials at the same time as everyone else. (Okay, 20 or 30 seconds after everyone else. Streaming still isn’t perfect.)That success hasn’t stopped naysayers from insinuating that the internet isn’t capable of handling large amounts of video traffic. Which simply isn’t true. Delays, dropped feeds and the like are software issues, caused by systems that were not built to handle such large spikes in viewership. This is really only a problem during live events like the Super Bowl or the season premier of popular shows like Game of Thrones. It has nothing to do with the internet’s ability to handle video traffic.We suspect that as more and more people start watching video on streaming devices, the software that supports that viewing will improve to the point where the difference between OTT (streaming) and QAM (set top box) will be unnoticeable. Advertising will also be the same for live/real-time broadcasts on both sources and networks will sell ads that way too, giving advertiser the ability to reach a larger audience across all devices and inputs.From a business perspective, increased OTT viewing is a positive development for MVPDs, who make increased profits from greater broadband usage. It’s also a boon for networks, once Nielsen’s Total Audience Measurement (TAM) system is up and running, as increased viewing options should lead to increased viewership overall, which allows networks to charge more money for advertising. Consumers benefit too from the availability of additional viewing options for real-time and VOD.As for live “tent pole” events like the Super Bowl, change may take a while. There’s a limited financial incentive to spend money on software that’s really only needed once a year. As more and more viewers begin watching everything via OTT, then demands on the system will increase and the networks’ upgraded software solutions will be able to handle the Super Bowl surge.Proving once and for all that the internet is a perfectly fine video delivery vehicle.
