ICC-CT Final Tech: How JioHotstar Handled Millions of Viewers

Raaj AryanRaaj Aryan
2 min read

1. Introduction

The ICC-CT Final between India and New Zealand had a record-breaking 80+ crore concurrent viewers, making it one of the biggest live-streamed events in history. But how did streaming platforms handle this massive traffic without crashing?

πŸ”Ή The biggest challenges in live streaming:

  • Scalability: Handling unpredictable traffic spikes.

  • Low Latency: Delivering smooth video with minimal delay.

  • High Availability: Ensuring servers don’t crash under load.

πŸš€ In this guide, we’ll break down the technologies used behind the scenes to ensure a seamless streaming experience.


2. Key Technologies for High-Traffic Handling

Live streaming for millions of users requires cutting-edge tech to manage traffic efficiently. Let's explore the key components:

πŸ”Ή 1. CDN (Content Delivery Network)

CDNs distribute video streams across multiple global servers, ensuring fast delivery and reducing load on the main server.

βœ” How It Works:

  • User requests a video.

  • CDN delivers the stream from the nearest server instead of the main data center.

πŸ“Œ Example: Platforms like Cloudflare, Akamai, AWS CloudFront optimize live video delivery.


πŸ”Ή 2. Load Balancing

Distributes traffic across multiple servers, preventing overload.

βœ” Example Load Balancer Configuration (Nginx):

upstream backend_servers {
    server stream1.example.com;
    server stream2.example.com;
    server stream3.example.com;
}
server {
    listen 80;
    location /stream {
        proxy_pass http://backend_servers;
    }
}

πŸ“Œ Popular Load Balancers: AWS ELB, Nginx, HAProxy


πŸ”Ή 3. Microservices Architecture

Breaks down the streaming system into independent, scalable services like:

  • Video Encoding

  • User Authentication

  • Live Chat & Engagement

  • Advertisement Handling

βœ” Why It Helps?

  • Prevents bottlenecks – If one service fails, others continue working.

  • Easier to scale – Add more instances to high-load services.


Continue Reading πŸ‘‰ ICC-CT Final Tech: How JioHotstar Handled Millions of Viewers

πŸ’¬ What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments! πŸš€

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Written by

Raaj Aryan
Raaj Aryan

MERN Stack Developer β€’ Open Source Contributor β€’ DSA With Java β€’ Freelancer β€’ Youtuber β€’ Problem-solving β€’