In Video-Streaming Rat Race, Fast Is Never Fast Enough

On average, YouTube streams 4 billion hours of video per month. That’s a lot of video, but it’s only a fraction of the larger online-streaming ecosystem. For video-streaming services, making sure clips always load properly is extremely challenging, and a new study reveals that it’s important to video providers, too.

Maybe this has happened to you: You’re showing a friend some hilarious video that you found online. And right before you get to the punch line, a little loading dial pops up in the middle of the screen.

Buffering kills comedic timing, and according to a study published by University of Massachusetts professor Ramesh Sitaraman, it kills attention spans, too