Netflix and YouTube video streaming services heavily overshadow rivals like Amazon Instant Video and Hulu, CNET reported.
Combined video and audio streaming from Netflix and YouTube accounted for more than 50 percent of downstream traffic during the peak part of the day, according to Sandvine's semi-annual Global Internet Phenomena Report.
The study examines anonymous network data to identify trends in network traffic and provide insight on consumer data networks, says the website. Amazon Instant Video and Hulu were dwarfed by the figure, their streaming services each reporting less than 2 percent of downstream traffic.
Netflix has spread worldwide, as well, launching in Europe less than two years ago. It already accounts for more than 20 percent of downstream traffic on networks in the British Isles, a feat that took Netflix four years to accomplish in the U.S.
Amazon Instant Video is hoping to boost its traffic with its first original television series, "Alpha House," which will premiere on Friday. "Alpha House" is intended to be the answer to Netflix's original programming like "House of Cards" and season four of "Arrested Development," said CNET.
"Netflix has been devoting a sizable chunk of its content budget to its own shows to rely slightly less on licensing other companies' content and to try to become something akin to the Internet's version of HBO," the outlet reported.
The streaming service, which boasts more than 40 million subscribers worldwide, has stayed quiet about whether or not its original programming brings in and retains viewers. Sandvine told CNET in an email that the original series didn't appear to increase traffic, but also noted that originals are more likely to up subscription tallies than move the needle on network traffic.
Streaming services have essentially killed file sharing online, reports show. File sharing is down to less than 10 percent of total daily traffic in North America, compared with five years ago, when it accounted for more than 31 percent, according to CNET.
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