“Unprecedented” Traffic on Pay TV Networks for World Cup Qatar 2022

Fox Sports
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CAMBRIDGE, U.K.—Strong consumer interest in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is driving what Velocix is calling “unprecedented” traffic demand on pay TV networks in various parts of the world. 

Velocix supplies managed services for video service provider based content delivery networks (CDNs) and it has used that infrastructure to track the video traffic peaks in countries around the world as fans watch the football tournament in Qatar.

Velocix’s managed services team has recorded the largest viewing increases in Latin America, with pay TV operators’ peak traffic levels rising by as much as 140% in some countries. 

In Europe, the peak traffic increases have also been impressive, with video service providers experiencing surges of up to 82%. 

In North America, where soccer has a much lower profile, modest increases in peak traffic have been recorded of around 20%, Velocix reported. 

“Velocix has been working closely with many of the world’s largest pay TV providers over several months to prepare their content delivery networks for the upswell in viewership caused by the FIFA World Cup,” explained Marco Rico, vice president of maintenance and managed services at Velocix said. "This detailed capacity planning and network optimization ensures consumers are able to enjoy the highest quality viewing experience, even as network traffic reaches record levels.”

“As the competition progresses through to the final, we are expecting even higher streaming traffic peaks,” he added. “Over the coming days, we will be monitoring video networks as they come under greater pressure and will fine tune the CDNs as needed to deliver the best performance to sports fans around the world.” 

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.