Netflix streaming increases 350%

The volume of Netflix video streaming has increased by 350% in the last 10 quarters, according to new stats from The Diffusion Group.

Netflix is fiercely protective of its viewing data and never releases any information about traffic or views. However, the new research claims that the domestic and international volume of traffic has grown from two billion hours in the fourth quarter of 2011 to seven billion hours as of Q2 2014.

Among US Netflix subscribers alone, total streaming almost tripled from 1.8 billion hours in Q4 2011 to 5.1 billion hours in Q2 2014.

Total international streaming grew from 200,000 hours in Q4 2011 to 1.9 million hours in Q2 2014, a ten-fold increase, according to the research.

While US Netflix subscribers continued to account for the majority of streaming traffic, it has declined from 94% of the worldwide total in Q3 2011 to 72% in Q2 2014 – a trend TDG says it expects to continue as Netflix continues to expand.

“When Netflix first launched in 1998 as an innovative DVD-by-mail subscription service it would have been difficult to imagine that, not only would it pass HBO to become the largest premium TV/movie subscription in the US, but that it would be ramping up a formidable international streaming business,” said TDG senior advisor and report author Bill Niemeyer.