SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Limelight Networks has announced that Limelight's EdgeXtend has been adopted by NTT DOCOMO, Japan's leading mobile operator, to expand its content business and improve user experiences for thousands of viewers across Japan.

Using EdgeXtend, DOCOMO can easily expand content delivery to its customers by caching content from its ecosystem of 13 services, Limelight explained. Caching on-network dramatically reduces the need to repeatedly retrieve content, which can significantly reduce costs. In addition, serving high-quality content from local on-net systems reduces latency and increases reliability. 

With the added performance benefits of Limelight's CDN software and Edge Cache hardware inside their own network, DOCOMO can also enhance streaming video delivery, the companies said.  The deployment also helps operations easily balance steady state traffic and fail-over traffic as well as prioritize individual types of traffic delivery.

"We can deliver valuable content from Limelight's high-performance cache embedded in our network, enabling us to grow our business, meet increased traffic demands, provide a better user experience for our customers, and reduce costs," said Takashi Ito, general manager of the Service Design Department at DOCOMO. 

"By bringing high value streaming video closer to its end users, DOCOMO is able to reach large volumes of subscribers from locations that will allow for the best possible viewing experience," added Takayuki Tadokoro, Japan Country Manager at Limelight Networks. "DOCOMO is a great example of how to most efficiently grow business and tap into new revenue opportunities from the next-generation digital and media services."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—With people advised to stay at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, streaming has hit record highs in viewing, according to a new report from Limelight Networks. But to fully capitalize on this development, streaming providers need to make sure they are providing the best possible experience.

In its State of Online Video 2020 report, Limelight found that 47% of people worldwide added a new streaming service in the last six months, with 40% citing the pandemic as their primary reason for doing so. Subsequently, viewers are now spending more time watching online video, with the weekly average coming in at 7.91 hours, up 16% from 2019 (6.8 hours) and 85% since 2016 (4.28 hours).

With the increase in time spent watching online streaming content, viewers have not become any more accepting of video rebuffering or latency issues. According to 44% of people, rebuffering remains the most frustrating aspect of online viewing; younger viewers particularly hold a high expectation for their viewing experience. When it comes to live streaming, 64% of people say they are more likely to watch if there is minimal latency from the live broadcast.

“Online video demand has clearly accelerated around the world this year, especially with so many people looking for entertainment, information and communication as they have spent more time at home due to COVID-19,” said Nigel Burmeister, vice president at Limelight Networks. “Our research shows that with the rise in viewers and subscriptions, it is critical that content providers have the right combination of content consumers want, the infrastructure to scale to meet demand and technology to give them the best possible online experiences.”

The Limelight report also provided greater insights into who is watching online video and what they are watching. 

The rise in time spent streaming has been occurring across all age groups, with adoption accelerating particularly among older viewers—the largest growth was among people 46 and older.

As far as what they are watching, TV shows are the most popular type of content, with viewers consuming an average of 4.6 hours a week globally; movies are second with an average of 4.5 hours/per week and user-generated content is third with four hours per week, doubling over the past year, Limelight says.

The number of SVOD services that people subscribe to was also included. Overall popularity for SVOD services has increased 50% since 2018. The highest rate is in the U.S., where viewers subscribe to an average of two services; Japan is the lowest with an average of 0.82 services. When asked what may cause them to unsubscribe from a service, 47% said price, with a lack of content the next most popular answer.

In addition, Limelight found that 37% of people share streaming account login information for SVOD services. It found that account sharing was least prevalent in the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Singapore, but most prevalent in Indonesia and India.

For the full report, visit Limelight Network’s website. 

LONDON—The ongoing tussle over the proroguing of Parliament and a no-deal Brexit has led to a huge spike in live streaming data traffic, according to data from Limelight Networks.

On Sept. 3, Limelight saw a 343% increase in live streaming data traffic compared to typical levels. Similarly, on Sept. 4 Limelight reported a 75% 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.

Limelight’s content delivery infrastructure is used to accelerate the delivery of video and other content to users.

Commenting on the spike in Brexit live streaming, Steve Miller-Jones, vice president Product Strategy, Limelight Networks said: “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.”