Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Open Connect: Celebrating a Decade of Smooth and Efficient Streaming

14/12/2022

Back to All News

Open Connect: Celebrating a Decade of Smooth and Efficient Streaming

Gina Haspilaire

Vice President, Open Connect Partnerships and Planning Content Delivery

Innovation

14 December 2022

Global

The year is 2012: Netflix had just premiered Lilyhammer, our first original series, and expanded to Europe, launching in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Even in the early days of streaming, with 2.4 billion internet users worldwide and rapidly ballooning, it was clear that easy and flexible access to high-quality entertainment over the internet was soon going to become the norm.

In anticipation of this growing demand from consumers and in line with our long-term vision of entertaining the world, we knew we had to invest in our own global content delivery network - and that's how the Open Connect program was born. We developed an infrastructure that efficiently delivers quality entertainment to our members - no matter where they are around the world or what device they're watching on - in partnership with internet service providers (ISPs) worldwide.

How does it work and what does this mean for our members?

Every time a member presses play, we want them to have the best possible viewing experience with high definition and no lag. We build and install servers close to where our members are, so Netflix's shows and films are streamed from nearby, not from halfway around the world. To date we have 18,000 servers in 6,000 locations (and growing) across 175 countries. This reduces the load on networks, reducing traffic and costs for operators all around the world, which allows us to smoothly deliver fan favorites like Red Notice and Bridgerton seamlessly to members.

And what does it mean for our ISP partners?

Open Connect is built to collaborate with ISP partners around the globe. When we anticipate high streaming demand for popular content, Open Connect identifies the most efficient delivery route based on ISPs preferences, and ensures that the show or film is available on local servers ahead of time. So, even when demand is at its highest, members can be assured that they can access must-watch series like Squid Game and Stranger Things and join in real-time conversations around these global hits. This helps our ISP partners avoid paying extra fees for delivering content from a further distance. We estimate that in 2021 alone, the program helped ISPs to avoid $1.25 billion in spend, allowing the growing demand from consumers to be handled sustainably without having to build out additional network infrastructure over time. Additionally, our improved video compression technology means that Netflix now delivers content at half the bitrate of five years ago, lessening the load on all our networks.

What's next?

As we look to the next decade of Open Connect innovation, we want to thank our partners and look forward to an even closer collaboration to entertain people everywhere. Netflix continues to invest in must-watch, fan-favorite series and films, and we hope to see network improvements that meets consumer demands and that the internet remains open and free without tolls on content usage online - so that people can continue to enjoy great stories from around the world.
LINK: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/open-connect-celebrating-a-decade-of...
See more stories from netflix

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

20/01/2026

SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Software-Defined Live Production

SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...

20/01/2026

From Architecture to Reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 Workflows Tell Us About DMF and MXL in Live Sport

From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...

20/01/2026

Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics Workflow Work for France Tlvisions

Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...

20/01/2026

Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to Winter Games

Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...

20/01/2026

Grand Finale: Rally Saudi Arabia Pushes WRC to Make the Most of Cameras and Drones for Sandy Spectacle

Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...

20/01/2026

State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?

State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...

20/01/2026

CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete Coverage

CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...

20/01/2026

Centering the Artist: Why We're Launching the AI Literacy Initiative

The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...

20/01/2026

19th Annual South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) open the call for Discretionary Award Nominations

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...

20/01/2026

The Gauge: Poland | December 2025

December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...

20/01/2026

The Gauge: Mexico December 2025

During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month. Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...

20/01/2026

Streaming Shatters Multiple Records in December 2025 with 47.5% of TV Viewing, according to Nielsen's The Gauge

Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...

20/01/2026

Nielsen: Streaming Shatters Multiple Records in December 2025

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard...

20/01/2026

Disguise and ASB GlassFloor Announce Official Partnership...

Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...

20/01/2026

LiveU Enables Cloud Production Workflow for First Ever IT...

Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...

20/01/2026

Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Music for 2026

Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...

20/01/2026

Sports Illustrated Launches New Streaming Channel SI TV

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard...

20/01/2026

S&P: Funding for GenAI Applications Nearly Tripled in 2025

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard...

20/01/2026

Emergent to Showcase AI-First Broadcast Graphics Platform...

Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...

20/01/2026

Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction

Back to All News Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction Business 20 January 2026 Global Link copied to clipboard All-C...

20/01/2026

Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting

Back to All News Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting Elmar Nubbemeyer VP, Member Product Product 20 January 2026 Global Link...

19/01/2026

CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hype Around Undefeated Run to Miami

CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...

19/01/2026

CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miami Matchup at Hard Rock Stadium

CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...

19/01/2026

CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for ESPN Game, Studio Coverage

CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...

19/01/2026

CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock Stadium Into a Production Campus

CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...

19/01/2026

CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverages Deep Specialty Camera Lineup, IP-Connected Compound

CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...

19/01/2026

The NOVA Binocular System: The Future of Night Vision

The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....

19/01/2026

Nielsen: Two-Thirds of Black Consumers Pay More Attention To Ads That Reflect Their Culture

The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...

19/01/2026

Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer, Art, and Additional Cast Revealed

Back to All News Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...

19/01/2026

Broadcast Pix Releases Version 10.3 Software

New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...

19/01/2026

Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap

Monday 19 January 2026 Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...

19/01/2026

Netflix Announces the Series 'Nights & Days,' Directed by Kamila Tarabura

Back to All News Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...

19/01/2026

Redefining piano miking with the new DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit

DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...

19/01/2026

Showcasing the enhanced 4099 CORE+ instrument mic and clip system at the 2026 NAMM Show

DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...

19/01/2026

Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operation

Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project Migrat...

19/01/2026

RT Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2025 Shortlist Announcement

Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize RT Choice Music Prize In association with IMRO and IRMA Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...

18/01/2026

Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laboratories and AMB Cinemas Bring a Truly Unique and Transformative Experie...

January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...

17/01/2026

Lightware and Google enhance meeting room flexibility wit...

Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...

17/01/2026

Clear-Com Partners with NETGEAR to Deliver OEM Networking...

Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...

17/01/2026

QuickLink Expands US Reach With Midwich Distribution

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...

17/01/2026

NUGEN Audio Launches the Next Evolution of MasterCheck

NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...

17/01/2026

BHV Introduces Pro AV Market to SportsBox at ISE 2026

BHV has announced that it will highlight its new SportsBox remote vision mixer and picture processor at ISE in Booth #4H900 marking its official introduction in...

17/01/2026

Clear-Com Reveals New 4-Channel HelixNet Beltpack and Adv...

Clear-Com will return to ISE 2026 to demonstrate its latest intercom solutions for broadcast, live production, and AV professionals. Exhibiting at Stand #4P700...

17/01/2026

Grass Valley Brings Scalable Creative Freedom to Broadcas...

Grass Valley, a leading provider in live production solutions, will exhibit at ISE 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 6, presenting its vision for how modern Bro...

17/01/2026

Utelogy Advances AI and Cloud-First Innovation at ISE 202...

Utelogy Corporation, the global leader in connected workplace management, monitoring, control, automation and analytics closes out a record-breaking 2025. The c...