LiveU highlights massive growth in live video contributions over IP

Data traffic for live video over IP has doubled in the last two years, with approximately 1.5 million hours of live streaming delivered by LiveU in 2017.

LiveU has made public a report prepared among more than 2,000 clients in a hundred countries that reveals the rise of broadcast contribution on cellular networks with respect to satellite networks. This study highlights the overall increase in demand for live content, geographic differences in video purchasing behavior, the shift to HD, and more.

Según el informe interno de LiveU, el tráfico de datos para video en vivo sobre IP se ha duplicado en los últimos dos años, con aproximadamente 1,5 millones de horas de transmisión en vivo entregadas por LiveU en 2017. La transmisión en vivo promedio por cliente es de 2,7 horas por día.

Con los avances en calidad de video HD, el tráfico de video HD 720/1080 ahora representa casi el 80% de todo el tráfico entregado este año y ha habido un aumento de más del 120% en sesiones de HD en vivo en comparación con 2016.

The length of video sessions has also increased with geographic differences around the world. While the average contribution session in Western Europe is 38 minutes, Africa averages the longest sessions at 46 minutes. In general, Africa, and especially countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, are replacing satellite links with cell phones. This can be explained by the strength of the region's 4G networks and the lower costs offered by mobile links. Some broadcasters are also creating multi-camera productions using cellular transmission units.

LiveU data shows the reliability of established networks with 79% of all linked videos now delivered solely over cellular networks (wired internet connection, WiFi and satellite accounts for the remaining portion).

The global average uplink speed for video acquisition has reached 4.5Mbps, with developed areas experiencing approximately 9Mbps on average.

Samuel Wasserman, CEO and co-founder of LiveU, highlights that "this study highlights the transition from traditional transmission methods to cellular link. This trend is gaining even more traction with our 4K HEVC LUV solution offering broadcasters and other content creators unmatched quality and reliability. We believe that growth in 2018 will come from this transition, cloud services and HEVC. Bringing higher quality with even greater reliability to the market, HEVC improves the use of “We are already seeing its use go beyond news, with our global customers looking to deploy the LU600 HEVC solution for live sports and other verticals.”