Poll: The next video-streaming record breaker?
News.com Poll
We've all heard it by now. Live streams of Barack Obama's presidential inauguration broke records for the Web, with about 7.7 million streams flowing concurrently at its peak. Which, of course, makes us wonder: what will set a new record?
With broadband penetration, not to mention Web usage in general, still growing, it's conceivable that some event of historic importance will surpass the inauguration in due time. Chances are, it'll be some prescheduled event that people know to tune into, rather than a sudden occurrence--but you never know.
We picked a few possibilities: World Cup football (soccer), for example, has been a big draw for Web traffic in the past, and with the 2010 tournament taking place in South Africa, the geographic distance from Europe and the U.S. may mean that some football fans are tuning in remotely rather than on location. Or, hypothetically, what if a major TV show chooses to broadcast its finale online? (Yeah, yeah, we know, the networks would never let it happen.)
Choose your prediction, or leave a comment with your own theory.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
- by Sporlo January 21, 2009 7:48 PM PST
- haha the Lost finale is actually in third :D
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(12 Comments)I predicted the World Cup over a disaster because I think you'd naturally get more views with something planned far in advance. Sure, the disaster might catch viewers slightly later, but by then more people will already know more about it and be less likely to watch.