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


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?
πΉ The biggest challenges in live streaming:
Scalability: Handling unpredictable traffic spikes.
Low Latency: Delivering smooth video with minimal delay.
High Availability: Ensuring servers donβt crash under load.
π In this guide, weβll 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:
πΉ 1. CDN (Content Delivery Network)
CDNs distribute video streams across multiple global servers, ensuring fast delivery and reducing load on the main server.
β How It Works:
User requests a video.
CDN delivers the stream from the nearest server instead of the main data center.
π Example: Platforms like Cloudflare, Akamai, AWS CloudFront optimize live video delivery.
πΉ 2. Load Balancing
Distributes traffic across multiple servers, preventing overload.
β 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;
}
}
π Popular Load Balancers: AWS ELB, Nginx, HAProxy
πΉ 3. Microservices Architecture
Breaks down the streaming system into independent, scalable services like:
Video Encoding
User Authentication
Live Chat & Engagement
Advertisement Handling
β Why It Helps?
Prevents bottlenecks β If one service fails, others continue working.
Easier to scale β Add more instances to high-load services.
Continue Reading π ICC-CT Final Tech: How JioHotstar Handled Millions of Viewers
π¬ What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments! π
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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’