Hotstar and Akamai set Global Streaming Record during IPL 2018
A record for peak concurrent viewers on Hotstar was established
during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders; CDN
powered by Akamai
Hotstar, India’s largest premium video streaming platform, leveraged
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the world’s largest and most trusted
cloud delivery platform to set a global streaming record on the Akamai platform
for the ongoing Indian Premier League held in India, for the
match between the Chennai Super Kings(CSK)
and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
on the 10th of April, 2018.
Viewership for the game peaked at 5.5 million concurrent viewers.
This is the largest on the Akamai platform for any live sporting event in the
world and the largest for any single event online by a broadcaster. This is
ahead of the previous high on the Akamai platform of 4.8 million peak
concurrent users, established by Hotstar during the India and Pakistan ICC Champions
Trophy Final in June 2017. The concurrent viewership of IPL on
Hotstar exceeded the peak viewership of 4.6 million for the streaming of the
inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2017.
The IPL experience on Hotstar has been reimagined
to be leagues ahead of the sports experience on any platform in the world, with
features like Watch’NPlay, a game that tests the viewers’ cricket smarts as
they watch a match, as well as VR and social features, that make the experience
more immersive than ever before.
“Crossing 5 million on a live sporting event is like
breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100 meter dash. We are proud that we are
the first to get here. But, of even more importance, we are excited that fans
have embraced the immersive sports experience on Hotstar that has brought
together live streaming, the expression of fan emotions and an interactive
always-on game. This is the future of video online and we are excited to shape
it. At this scale, we will be clearly testing the ability of different parts of
the Internet to keep up with the dramatic growth in fan followership. And, we
are delighted that Akamai has been a partner that has always walked in step
with our ambitions and delivered the scale that we seek,” said Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar.
“Hotstar is one of the pioneers in the live streaming
industry in India, and has changed the way hundreds of millions of people
consume content. With the hyper growth of mobile-first users, it's important
that platforms catering to them factor in the right technology to provide an
experience that rivals, if not supersedes, a traditional broadcast experience.
Akamai’s partnership with Hotstar has changed how people enjoy a variety of
content ranging from general entertainment to live sports anytime, anywhere and
on any device,” said Parimal
Pandya, Vice President, Media, APJ, Akamai Technologies.
IPL, in its eleventh edition this year,
started on 7th April
and is a 60 day tournament that will conclude on 27th May.
The tournament is streaming live on Hotstar in six languages, including Tamil,
Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Hindi and English.
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