Latency reduced in live sports streaming during 2024

The Digital TV Group (DTG) says there’s been notable improvements in lowering latency for live sports streaming this year.

It investigated the streaming of Wimbledon, the Olympic Games, and the Paralympic Games, examining device performance and latency compared with 2023 live events.

While the DTG’s research unveiled improvements, it also uncovered well-known branded devices that are still experiencing delays of more than a minute.

Its findings shows that average latency for BBC iPlayer has improved significantly from last year’s Coronation coverage (55.9 seconds) to 40 seconds during the 2024 Olympics, which is a 15.9-second improvement.

The Sky Glass had the lowest latency among the IP streaming platforms, while premium brand Smart TVs showed some of the highest delays. The worst-performing device on one PSB stream was one of the best on the other, highlighting the need to address inconsistencies.

Android devices had the highest latency, with delays approaching one minute in some cases.

Meanwhile, console-based streaming saw the greatest improvement, with a latency reduction of over 34 seconds compared to 2023.

The research showed traditional broadcast methods had the lowest delays, consistently outperforming IP streaming services across all tests.

Ranjeet Kaur, programme director at DTG, said: “This analysis underscores the progress we’re seeing in reducing latency for live sports streaming, bringing the viewer experience closer in line with traditional broadcast standards. While our findings show clear improvements, particularly with platforms like Sky Glass and console-based streaming, there’s still work to be done to ensure consistent performance across all devices and services. With the growing demand for seamless, real-time access to live events, the industry must continue to focus on reducing delays.”