Streaming over Stealing? Netflix and Youtube Dominate Web Traffic While BitTorrent Slides

Perhaps streaming services are actually making inroads in creating a world where most people don't steal their media content, but rather stream it from legitimate sources. That's the takeaway from the latest Global Internet Phenomena Report from internet traffic tracker Sandvine.

Sandvine's latest report found that video streams from Netflix and YouTube have outpaced all other sources of downstream and aggregate internet traffic, including the web in general (HTTP) and BitTorrent in particular. Of all peak residential North American downstream internet traffic, Netflix and YouTube made up more than half of that bandwidth in the month of September.

Meanwhile, BitTorrent continues to hold the top place for upstream traffic in all areas of fixed (non-mobile) access, but it has slipped to fourth place among downstream traffic in North America, and third place in Europe. This may be evidence for the claim from Netflix earlier this year that its streaming services are "killing" BitTorrent. The chief content officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, said in May that ISPs were noticing a drop in BitTorrent traffic every time the company launched in a new area, saying, "the best way to combat piracy isn't legislatively or criminally but by giving good options."  

The news isn't as great for competitors like Amazon Video (which includes Prime streaming and VOD) and Hulu, which made up just under 3 percent of total downstream traffic, put together - with Amazon Video making up 1.61 percent and Hulu at 1.29 percent in North America.

Netflix has also made inroads on European internet traffic, coming in at 3.45 percent this September, while YouTube continues to dominate downstream access there and in Latin America.

Also notable: YouTube continues to hold first place in North American downstream traffic with mobile access, at a time when the world's largest video sharing system is on the brink of adding a feature that will let mobile users download a certain amount of video content on their smartphones for offline use later. This upcoming feature could be a boon for both urban subway riders and rural commuters who pass through stretches of no cell coverage.

 Netflix remains down on the list, possibly because mobile users worry about the length of Netflix movies slurping up all of the data on their monthly LTE plans.

One Netflix feature that will probably increase its share of downstream traffic as a whole - even without adding new subscribers or increasing the amount that users watch - is the company's upcoming 4K streaming option. The company is currently experimenting with a few 4K videos - also known as Ultra-HD - on its streaming site. Netflix has a few eight-minute video tours of Mexico, under the title El Fuente, which are available in different frame-rates in order for the company to figure out what streams the cleanest and what frame rates look the best in 4K.

While most internet connections in the U.S. aren't ready for 4K video, the bandwidth-hogging streaming media, when launched on Netflix, will undoubtedly keep the company at the top of internet downstream traffic for a while.