Survey: Is the streaming infrastructure ready for some football?

"Content delivery network provider Netskrt's "State of the ISP Survey" found that live sporting events are the global infrastructure's most daunting streaming challenge and that the biggest worry is traffic generated by American football. The long-term study - conducted between May and August 2025 - includes input from 55 global internet service providers (ISPs). Almost eight in ten survey respondents (78%) said sports cause them the most concern related to streaming reliability. Of these, 70% pointed to American football as the most challenging sport to deliver. International football (soccer) is quickly approaching similar levels."

"Almost 75% report network traffic spikes up to 200% during live sporting events, amplifying congestion and buffering risks. Other findings from the ISP streaming survey: The most common issue with a live event is buffering, followed by upstream traffic congestion. That is followed by roughly equal concern about capacity planning and problem calls from customers. Traffic spikes can be significant during live events. The survey found the most common increase is between 1% and 100%, followed by 101% to 200%, 201% to 300% and 301% to 400%. Traffic stays the same for a portion between 300% and 400% group. The third-largest group had no idea how much their traffic changed."

""These findings put real numbers on what we've long known," Netskrt cofounder and chief revenue officer Lars Cavi said in a press release about the streaming survey. "Live sports push service providers to their limits. ISPs need tools that allow them to efficiently handle the traffic spikes associated with live sports, which can often be 5-10 times daily averages.""

Live sporting events create the most significant streaming reliability challenges for ISPs worldwide, with American football the top delivery concern and international football approaching similar levels. Seventy-eight percent of providers identify sports as the primary streaming reliability issue, and 70% of those single out American football. Nearly 75% report traffic spikes up to 200% during live sporting events, increasing congestion and buffering. Buffering is the most common live-event issue, followed by upstream congestion, capacity-planning worries, and customer problem calls. Most traffic increases fall between 1% and 200%, though some providers report larger spikes or unknown changes. Sports far outpace videogame drops and season premieres as sources of concern.

Read at Telecompetitor