Netflix aims to prove its live streaming capabilities by live broadcasting the comeback live of the popular idol group BTS.
"BTS comeback live: ARIRANG," held on the 21st at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul, will be broadcast live worldwide through Netflix. This performance draws attention as Netflix's first live event presented in Korea and as the first case of live broadcasting a music performance on a global scale. As the OTT platform that has secured the top global spot, Netflix is expected to strengthen its influence in the live broadcasting field as well.
BTS comeback live is a mega project combining global live broadcasting, a world-class production team and large-scale on-site operations. BTS's performance at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul will be streamed live worldwide simultaneously through Netflix. As this is the first live event Netflix is broadcasting from Korea, attention is focused on the content delivery technologies Netflix possesses.
# Over the past 10 years Netflix has promoted Korean content worldwide with its own technology, now expanding to live
Over the past 10 years Netflix has built a broad technological foundation by providing streaming on a global stage, including Korea. Prior to BTS comeback live, Netflix successfully presented live events such as Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, NFL Christmas game day, WWE, and Skyscraper Live: Climbing a supertall building. It expanded the content delivery capabilities honed in the SVOD (subscription VOD) field into "live." In particular, Netflix has been noticeably advancing its technology and operational know-how step by step to match the characteristics of live broadcasting environments.
# Advanced video encoding, load balancing that distributes traffic, triple safety mechanisms and multi-failure recovery systems
One of Netflix's representative technologies is advanced video encoding. This technology significantly reduces the size of all content uploaded to Netflix while efficiently using bandwidth to enable streaming at various resolutions and qualities. Processed videos are automatically adjusted in quality and resolution during playback according to the user's network conditions, device characteristics such as TVs and smartphones, and the complexity of scenes. In 2020 Netflix was recognized for the innovation of this video encoding optimization technology and received a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award.
Netflix has also improved this video encoding technology so it can be efficiently applied to live broadcasts. To respond to sudden increases in traffic between servers, Netflix's "load balancing" technology distributes traffic. Load balancing provides triple safety mechanisms for stable streaming on a foundation of dedicated encoding technology and pipelines optimized for live environments. For example, if a problem occurs with the main encoder, the system immediately switches automatically to a backup or tertiary encoder.
There is also a "multi-failure recovery" system that swiftly reallocates encoding paths as needed to minimize streaming delays. In addition, by introducing a "live-dedicated operation mode," infrastructure resources are reallocated during live events to prioritize core requests directly connected to continuous video delivery.
At the core of all the technologies Netflix is investing in for live broadcasting is Netflix's core infrastructure content delivery network (CDN), Open Connect. Since introducing Open Connect in 2012, Netflix has built partnerships with more than 1,000 internet service providers (ISPs) worldwide. Based on this technical capability, over the past 10 years Netflix has reduced bit rates by about 60% while maintaining the same image quality, and it is developing technology that will allow the entire content catalog to be streamed with about one-fourth of the data currently required.
A Netflix official explained, "We have continuously invested in our own content delivery network and video technology to provide a stable viewing experience even in large-scale streaming environments."
# Streaming reliability perfected and verified in real live environments
Netflix tested its advanced technologies in real environments and verified their stability. A representative case is the live broadcast of daily life of a gorilla family at the Cleveland Zoo in the United States, "Baby Gorilla Cam." This content was a test project produced to verify various failure scenarios in a relatively small-scale live environment. During the real live broadcast of baby gorillas playing, Netflix engineers verified the structure in which the encoding system automatically switches to a backup encoder when an error occurs and the streaming failure recovery system. The experience accumulated through these tests was later applied to various live content operations and became the basis for strengthening streaming resilience.
A Netflix official said, "For the best live experience, we are mobilizing the live know-how accumulated by top experts since 2023 and putting all our efforts into this BTS comeback live broadcast," adding, "Unlike traditional offline performances limited to audiences in specific areas or ticket purchasers, we will do our best so that a historic moment of K-culture can be born where fans around the world can enjoy the performance simultaneously within the same subscription environment through Netflix."
[Photo] Provided by Netflix.
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