If you needed anymore convincing that streaming video is now a big deal for Netflix, a new study says that, during certain parts of the day, streams from Netflix account for around 1/5 of the downstream traffic in the U.S.

From Multichannel.com:

Netflix represents more than 20% of downstream Internet traffic during peak times in the U.S. — and is heaviest in the primetime hours of 8 to 10 p.m., according to a new report from bandwidth management equipment vendor Sandvine.

Of course, as I write this, the Netflix site that should be sending out all those movies and TV shows appears to have gone a bit bonkers.

Reads a statement currently on the site:

We’re sorry, the Netflix website and the ability to instantly watch movies are both temporarily unavailable.

However, our shipping centers are continuing to send and receive DVDs so your order is in process as usual.

Our engineers are working hard to bring the site and ability to watch instantly back up as soon as possible.

Netflix Customers Consume 20% of Bandwidth During Peak Times [Hacking Netflix]

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