Football, games, streaming and more: how you used our network in 2023

At the end of another year, we’re looking back on how the internet has continued to play an important role in keeping us connected, informed and entertained.

And the breaking news is that the biggest use of our network in 2023 came from live football streaming in December, with peak numbers registering 24% higher than our 2022 high.

The second highest peak of the year came with the pre-download of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on 8^th November, which saw traffic surge 12% higher than 2022’s top number.

It’s all in the game

While gaming will often drive surges in web traffic usage, as avid gamers enthusiastically download new releases, for the second consecutive year it has been live football that has seen the most extensive use of our network.

The FIFA World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco was 2022’s surprise peak moment, while this year, Amazon Prime’s six-match midweek Premier League coverage propelled this year’s record peak at exactly 9.05pm on 6^th December, when approximately 20% of all the traffic on our network was consumed over Amazon.

Staying in the world of football, while the Premier League’s final day coverage on 28^th May didn’t set any new traffic records, the Zen network did experience a 6% increase in web traffic when compared to the previous day – shift the games to Sunday, and the traffic moves with it. It’s become quite predictable at this point.

The Lionesses extra time victory over Nigeria on 7^th August prompted a 9% increase on our usual mid-week, daytime traffic. And staying with the Women’s World Cup, a win against Australia on 15^th August contributed to a 17% surge on our normal daytime traffic, while the losing final against Spain on 20^th August prompted a 12% increase.

The year in review and seasonal trends

Zen’s first major peak of 2023 coincided with updates to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone Season 2 on 15^th February, soaring 11% past 2022’s highest peak and up 13% on a regular February day.

Traffic on the Zen network typically reduces during the spring and summer months as people spend more time outdoors and away from home. But unsurprisingly, this trend was well and truly bucked by the King’s coronation in May which propelled 62% more traffic onto our network than an average Saturday in that month.

And if you weren’t convinced yet that many of our customers love their games, pre-release downloads of Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition drove a noticeable spike on 31^st August at about the same levels of 2022’s busiest day.

As the nights draw in and the weather turns colder, the autumn and winter months tend to be where we see the most traffic on our network. It’s not unusual for us to see an uptick in demand from September onwards each year, creating a new baseline in demand. The 20^th and 21^st September were notable this year, possibly driven by Rishi Sunak’s announcement and subsequent discussions around the UK’s Net Zero policies.

Remembrance Day on 12^th November contributed to a 12% increase in usual internet traffic, with inclement weather prompting more people to stay indoors and stream Remembrance Day services rather than attend in person.

Other gaming moments

Despite the hype surrounding its launch, the Diablo 4 pre-download which was made available on 31^st August only triggered a 4.5% increase in traffic volumes on our network.

Similarly, while the pre-download of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sparked a surge in demand, the expected second surge on the game’s official 10^th November release actually accounted for no notable change in Zen’s network traffic.

We’ll leave the final word to Zen CEO Richard Tang:

“Like most providers, 2020’s unprecedented demands saw a massive increase in bandwidth consumption across our network, and though things settled a little since then, a new baseline in demand was created. Subsequent annual increases in demand have led to consistently growing numbers on our network, with our seasonal spikes driven by live sport streaming and large game releases. In fact, we have seen a 237% increase in bandwidth usage across our network since the start of the pandemic.

“With the internet being a fundamental enabler of work and play, and new tech being introduced to homes at a rapid rate, we don’t expect this demand to drop anytime soon. At Zen we’re committed to delivering a smooth experience to our users even in the face of these record numbers, continually improving our network performance and capacity so it’s never at risk of congestion. This is to ensure we can always meet what is an ever-increasing demand for reliable and resilient broadband connectivity.”