Level 3 Content Delivery Network Powers Game of Thrones
Level 3 content delivery network customers have access to one of the best performing content delivery networks in the world. With a huge number of points of presence at strategic traffic hotspots around the globe, the Level 3 content delivery network provides users with an unparalleled level of performance, not to mention class leading customer support.
It is for this reason that HBO, the US premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Time Warner, selected the Level 3 content delivery network to help them deliver the season opening of the hugely popular TV show Game of Thrones. With millions of viewers expected to watch the show, they couldn’t afford to not have the available bandwidth to stream the episode across the US.
Unfortunately, a premium TV channel in Australia didn’t take such useful measure. Foxtel was unable to deal with the huge increase in viewers trying to stream the show and this led to the network crashing.
“Unfortunately, due to this massive surge in demand, a significant number of customers experienced difficulty logging in to Foxtel Now and the Foxtel app,” the company said. “The system was unable to verify some customers’ entitlements. We are unable to say exactly how many customers were affected because the system is unable to separately identify customers who have a problem logging in but later successfully manage to do so.” Foxtel admitted that while it had anticipated massive interest in the series return, “the traffic that eventuated far exceeded expectations”.
Level 3 Content Delivery Network Advantages
Speaking of the challenges faced by companies offering such popular TV shows for streaming, Laurinda Pang, Regional President, North America and Asia Pacific of Level 3, said that with increasingly higher bitrates, and more viewers and devices accessing HBO GO content, the importance of relying on a network optimised for media delivery cannot be overstated. “Game of Thrones is one of the most popular shows in the world, and HBO’s use of Level 3’s CDN for the HBO GO platform will enable millions of people to enjoy the show anytime, anywhere, on any device,” she added.