July 5, 2005 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Saturday’s webcast of the Live 8 concerts taking place in venues located around the world shattered Internet records, drawing in an estimated 5 million users via AOL’s (aol.com) free live video streaming coverage. The event also spawned more than 26 million text messages – the largest number of text messages sent on one day.
AOL’s coverage exceeded expectations by bringing in about 5 million users from roughly 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time, delivering 175,000 concurrent video streams of the concerts at its peak, according to an AOL spokesperson. The webcasting of Live 8 was the largest streaming event ever.
ABC drew in 2.9 million viewers, according to preliminary estimates from the Neilson Media Research. Meanwhile, the BBC reported an average 4.2 million viewers for its BBC2 coverage of Live 8′s flagship concert in Hyde Park, and an additional 7.8 million when it later switched to its flagship BBC1. It reached a peak audience of 9.6 million viewers.
The 10 concerts occurred simultaneously around the globe, and featured such performers as Paul McCartney, U2, the Who, Pink Floyd, Green Day, Bjork, Motley Crue and Coldplay. The Live 8 campaign is intended to create support for a plan to cancel the debts of Africa’s poorest countries.
