Providing stable streaming to a maximum of 53,000 concurrent users

Limelight Networks announced that NBT has adopted its CDN solution for stable streaming of the live mobile quiz show 'thequiz.live'.

Mobile quiz shows are gaining significant popularity worldwide. As a leading domestic live mobile quiz show service company, NBT's 'thequiz.live' can be downloaded as a mobile app to participate, and covers general knowledge questions including securities and economics fields.

Moreover, 'thequiz.live' conducts 'collaboration quiz shows' with corporate sponsorships, and has awarded 10 million won to the final winner, the largest prize money in mobile quiz show history. In this case, the quiz topics include content related to the sponsor's business field, and the show continues until a final winner emerges. If all participants are eliminated simultaneously, the participants who survived the last question split the 10 million won prize. While you can participate alone, you can also pool 'collective intelligence' with colleagues or family. 'Search-fu' doesn't work. You have to choose the answer within 5 to 10 seconds, so there's no time. For typical live streaming, it is necessary to convert and transmit at least 3 chunks of 10 seconds in length before streaming video data. Due to this, when considering CDN collection, transcoding, distance between source and viewers, and final transmission to viewers, the typical latency was 30 seconds to nearly 1 minute.

The key appeal of NBT's thequiz.live is that it offers suspense and immersion by having the host ask questions and determining pass/fail in the order that participants submit correct answers fastest in the chat window, selecting winners. Accordingly, NBT faced a situation where with thequiz.live reaching a maximum of 53,000 concurrent users, it could not stably handle 100Gbps of network traffic, which could significantly diminish the credibility of the quiz show if video streaming service was delayed.

In response, NBT worked to optimize video streaming service based on HLS (Http Live Streaming) protocol, shifting from the existing RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol)-based service to enhance thequiz.live service stability.

NBT ultimately selected the Limelight CDN solution based on technology proven by major global video companies using Limelight's CDN service, differentiated professional support service, competitive pricing, and test results showing top performance. From February to April, NBT pilot-tested the Limelight CDN solution for three months and reconfirmed its value, then formally signed a CDN solution and service adoption contract in May.

By continuously providing low latency high-quality streaming service and expertise accumulated over many years, Limelight CDN enabled NBT to reduce latency to approximately 6 seconds from actual video transmission to when end users view the video. Through the adoption of Limelight CDN, NBT expects to improve customer satisfaction in the long term and secure the competitiveness of the 'thequiz.live' service.

Limelight's ability to successfully support real-time interactive service businesses like 'thequiz.live' where latency is critical stems from its global private network and professional expertise accumulated through diverse experience. In particular, Limelight's global infrastructure can flexibly respond to unpredictable traffic spikes when concurrent users suddenly surge, and the cost is also much more efficient.

Lee Jae-kwang, DevOps Team Leader at NBT, said, "With the 'mobile quiz show' craze where users solve real-time quizzes on mobile and receive prize money, a new mobile content market is opening. Mobile quiz shows are attractive as they attract tens of thousands of concurrent users per session with high engagement, and are drawing attention as a next-generation advertising platform through exposing corporate names and products on banners and backgrounds." He added, "CDN service plays a very important part in our business, and we expect high-level service. Limelight is recognized for strong performance and is the optimal partner that doesn't disappoint in any way."