The World Cup has sparked a rise in the amount of corporate bandwidth being used to download matches, but can't compete with Big Brother

Big Brother saw a 1,184 per cent increase in the amount of bandwidth downloaded from the Channel 4 website

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Big Brother kicks World Cup into touch

Football bandwidth can't compete with live game show

Matt Chapman, vnunet.com 16 Jun 2006

The World Cup has sparked a rise in the amount of corporate bandwidth being used to download matches, but the tournament can't compete with the antics of a group of people trapped in a house in London.

The rise in corporate bandwidth when Channel 4's Big Brother began was 1,184 per cent, 22 times higher than the 53 per cent rise when the World Cup kicked off.

The opening of the World Cup on 9 June saw the amount of internet bandwidth used by UK businesses rise by more than half compared with the day before, according to BlackSpider Technologies.

However, online phenomenon Big Brother saw a massive 1,184 per cent increase in the amount of bandwidth downloaded from the Channel 4 website the day after the contestants entered the house.

"Big Brother and the World Cup are huge events, so we were certainly expecting an increase in associated internet browsing, which ultimately causes bandwidth demands to soar," said James Kay, chief technology officer at BlackSpider.

Kay said that Big Brother may be more popular at the moment because of its established online presence, compared with World Cup matches which have been broadcast live on the internet for the first time.

"That could all change as the World Cup enters the knockout stages, especially if England is still involved," he said.

Kay explained that bosses were left in a difficult position, because they don't want to be seen as killjoys and spoil their employees' fun.

"But at the same time the amount of bandwidth being used, particularly during a major event, is enough to significantly slow down a network, which can be very frustrating for those people still working," he said.

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