Report: Netflix Generated Almost as Much Internet Traffic as Google in 2022 as Demand for Video Content Skyrockets
Other streaming services must get tired of hearing about Netflix’s dominance in the industry. At nearly 231 million subscribers, Netflix is the world’s largest streaming service, and so far is the only major player in the business to report currently being profitable. Other streamers like HBO Max and Disney+ are operating at significant losses right now, and each has been plotting out its own path to getting into the black.
A new report from Sandvine, a network intelligence firm that measures worldwide internet usage, indicates that Netflix’s streaming supremacy is in no danger of faltering. Sandvine’s data shows that Netflix drove 13.74% of all global internet traffic in 2022, up from 9.39% in 2021 and just behind Google’s 13.85%. That means Netflix is using nearly as much internet bandwidth per year as Google, and its share is increasing.
The increase in Netflix’s share of global internet traffic reflects a growing demand for video in general. According to Sandvine’s report, video was the No. 1 app category in terms of driving internet traffic, making up for 65.93% of all bandwidth used in the first half of 2022. That’s a 24% year-over-year increase from the same time period in 2021, when video accounted for 53.72% of total internet volume.
2021 Figures
2022 Figures
The rising tide is helping all boats, even if Netflix is seeing the biggest benefit. Disney+, Prime Video and Hulu all cracked the top-10 list of global video apps in terms of traffic generated. However, in the previous year, none of these companies made the top 10; now, Disney+ is fifth, Prime Video is seventh, and Hulu is eighth.
2021 Top 10 Video Apps
2022 Top 10 Video Apps
Sandvine’s report did not specify what it attributed the gains for those streaming services to, but each service had some definite content wins during 2022. Disney+ saw big success with its franchises, bringing in tons of clicks and views with shows like “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “Moon Knight.” Prime Video became the exclusive streaming home of the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” and Hulu debuted hit original series like “The Bear” and a new season of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
The data from Sandvine also shows where video streaming apps like Netflix are already most dominant, and where they still have work to do. Subscription video streaming on mobile devices has taken hold in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific regions, but penetration of mobile streaming apps in Europe, the Middle East and Africa lags far behind.
Netflix’s own numbers bear this data out. The service reported adding 7.66 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2022, with most of those additions coming from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asian-Pacific region, where there is the most room to grow. In North America it added only 910,000 subscribers, demonstrating its market penetration there is already nearly maxed out.
As tiresome as it surely is for other streamers to keep hearing about Netflix’s place atop the industry, it doesn’t appear to be in any jeopardy. Disney+ and others are gaining, but they still have a long way to go before they catch up with the world’s largest streaming service.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.