Netflix and chilling outpaces YouTube bandwith usage on the network admits BT chief
BT chief executive Gavin Patterson has claimed that Netflix used more network bandwidth than any other site, surpassing YouTube which came in second.
He also said that usage of BBC iPlayer was switching to a more on-demand trend, with people downloading and watching later, rather than streaming.
The telco CEO and former marketer made the comments during an interview on stage at Mobile World Congress.
The business recently acquired EE, giving BT a mobile business once again, something it hasn’t had since it span-out O2. He said the UK was, therefore, a bit behind in terms of having quadplay offerings.
Patterson said the business gets a lot more attention for its recent focus on sport, saying “Sport is at the heart of what we do in content but it's an expensive habit to keep”.
He said the business often got quizzed on its decision to use sport to entice people into its packages.
Don't want it to just be about football, it’s also rugby and cricket and now tennis. Beyond that customers want access to great movies and on demand content and we will work with anyone to make them that part of the proposition. Most people want to be on it but not everyone,” he said.
While sport and movies are an expensive investment for the business, consumers did still have a big passion for user generated content, according to Patterson.
“Our attitude is that we want customers to get the best entertainment, no matter what form that takes. YouTube gets cached deep in network, it’s the source of the second most bandwidth usage overall. If my children are anything to go by, young children watch a lot more YouTube than TV. We need to make sure our network is fit for every generation,” he added.