A third of Europeans will follow the Olympic Games online

A study commissioned by Riverbed raises questions about whether Web sites will be able to handle the surge in demand during the Olympics.

Riverbed Technology, a company specialized in high-performance IT infrastructure, has published a new study that reveals that more than a third of Europeans will watch the Olympic Games online this summer. Therefore, streaming websites have to be prepared to meet this demand.

The study has identified that the men's 100 meter dash final will be the Olympic event that is most likely to be viewed online, with an average of 51% of those surveyed. The second most viewed event online would be the 100-meter freestyle in men's swimming, as answered by 36%, followed by the men's soccer final, which obtained an average of 30% of those surveyed, placing it as one of the most popular online events.

This study, conducted for Riverbed by several leading research companies across Europe, surveyed more than 3,500 citizens in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands. According to their results, approximately one in five Europeans will follow more events on the Internet this summer than in the previous Olympic Games. The study also revealed that more than half of online Olympic viewers would not be willing to tolerate delays of more than two minutes on streaming services before switching to a different source.

Apurva Davé, Vice President of Products for the Stingray Business Unit at Riverbed, said: "Europeans are changing their viewing habits. And global sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, often generate spikes in traffic, as users use their PCs, laptops or mobile devices to watch their favorite athletes, get real-time results and purchase items associated with those events. Organizations must take additional measures to address the demand spikes caused by the Olympics. If they don't, and their sitios Web no tienen capacidad para responder ante esta situación, sus espectadores podrían optar por seguir las Olimpiadas por otros medios. Esto podría hacerles perder los ingresos derivados de la publicidad y desaprovechar oportunidades de e-commerce”.