MUMBAI and BANGALORE, India, April
12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotstar, India's largest premium video streaming
platform, leveraged Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the
world's largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, to set a
global streaming record on the Akamai platform for the ongoing VIVO
Indian Premier League held in India, for the match between the Chennai Super
Kings (CSK) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the 10th of
April, 2018.
Viewership for the game peaked at 5.5 million concurrent
viewers. This is the largest on the Akamai platform for any live
sporting event in the world and the largest for any single event
online by a broadcaster. This is ahead of the previous high on the
Akamai platform of 4.8 million peak concurrent users, established
by Hotstar during the India and
Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy Final in June 2017[1]. The concurrent
viewership of VIVO IPL on Hotstar
exceeded the peak viewership of 4.6 million for the streaming of
the inauguration of U.S. President Donald
Trump in January 2017.
The Vivo IPL experience on Hotstar has been reimagined to be
leagues ahead of the sports experience on any platform in the
world, with features like Watch'NPlay, a game that tests the
viewers' cricket smarts as they watch a match, as well as VR and
social features, that make the experience more immersive than ever
before.
"Crossing 5 million on a live sporting event is like breaking
the 10-second barrier in the 100 meter dash. We are proud that we
are the first to get here. But, of even more importance, we are
excited that fans have embraced the immersive sports experience on
Hotstar that has brought together live streaming, the expression of
fan emotions and an interactive always-on game. This is the future
of video online and we are excited to shape it. At this scale, we
will be clearly testing the ability of different parts of the
Internet to keep up with the dramatic growth in fan followership.
And, we are delighted that Akamai has been a partner that has
always walked in step with our ambitions and delivered the scale
that we seek," said Ajit Mohan,
CEO, Hotstar.
"Hotstar is one of the pioneers in the live streaming industry
in India, and has changed the way
hundreds of millions of people consume content. With the hyper
growth of mobile-first users, it's important that platforms
catering to them factor in the right technology to provide an
experience that rivals, if not supersedes, a traditional broadcast
experience. Akamai's partnership with Hotstar has changed how
people enjoy a variety of content ranging from general
entertainment to live sports anytime, anywhere and on any device,"
said Parimal Pandya, Vice
President, Media, APJ, Akamai Technologies.
Vivo IPL, in its eleventh edition this year, started on
7th April and is a 60 day tournament that will conclude
on 27th May. The tournament is streaming live on Hotstar
in six languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Hindi
and English.
About Hotstar
Hotstar is India's largest
premium streaming platform with more than 100,000 hours of drama
and movies in 9 languages, and coverage of every major global
sporting event. Launched in early 2015, it is one of India's most downloaded apps and has attracted
more than 350 million followers on the back of a highly evolved
video streaming technology and high attention to quality of
experience across devices and platforms. Hotstar has appropriated
top spots on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store,
and been named among the most popular apps of 2017 on both
platforms.
For media queries, please contact:
Tricia Silveira, Text100: +91 9763554484,
tricia.silveira@text100.co.in
Meherwan Dadachanji, Text100: +91
7045488422, meherwan.dadachanji@text100.co.in
Anmol Pandya, Text100: +91
9930749772, anmol.pandya@text100.co.in
About Akamai
As the world's largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform,
Akamai makes it easier for its customers to provide the best and
most secure digital experiences on any device, anytime, anywhere.
Akamai's massively distributed platform is unparalleled in scale
with over 200,000 servers across 130 countries, giving customers
superior performance and threat protection. Akamai's portfolio of
web and mobile performance, cloud security, enterprise access, and
video delivery solutions are supported by exceptional customer
service and 24/7 monitoring. To learn why the top financial
institutions, e-commerce leaders, media & entertainment
providers, and government organizations trust Akamai please
visit www.akamai.com, blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai
on Twitter.
Contacts:
Hyacinths
Pennefather
Akamai
Technologies
hpennefa@akamai.com
|
Sandeep Deb
Varman
20:20 MSL
sandeep.varman@2020msl.com
|
[1] The India Watch Report 2018
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SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.