CNN.com Live Inauguration Coverage Shatters Traffic Records

Update: Through 6PM ET, CNN.com generated more than 158.5 million page views and CNN.com Live served more than 25 million live streams.

Original Post: CNN.com Live, the live streaming video arm of CNN's website, experienced record traffic levels during the inauguration of Barack Obama.

As of 1PM ET, CNN.com Live had served more than 18.8 million live video streams globally since 6AM, shattering the previous record of 5.3 million streams, which occurred on Election Day. Internal data indicated that peak usage occurred immediately prior to President Obama's inaugural address.

Last week, internet server company Akamai reported a spike in internet usage when the US Air flight landed in the Hudson River, but it expected a record-breaking spike in internet usage during the inauguration.

Comments

[jenny42]

08:46 AM on 01/21/2009

MSNBC is normally the station I watch to get my news and I will flip from time to time to watch CNN. However, MSNBC people talk entirely too much. I have to give kudos to CNN for the coverage they gave yesterday, it was fantastic. They allowed me to see this event in its entirely with much more interaction with the crowds. CSPAN did well, but then I was missing some of the comments.
So yes, I can understand the overload because CNN ROCKED it yesterday.

[VivaZapata]

07:28 AM on 01/21/2009

As someone who marched on Washington several times to protest governmental policies, I thought it was remarkable and wonderful to see such a large gathering formed to celebrate for a change.

[ZimboChick]

02:09 AM on 01/21/2009

You know MSNBC will never catch up to anything because they act the plum fool. They cut off the streaming at 5.00pm before the parade was even done. I despise CNN but had to tune in....and their picture was clearer! They streamed just past 12 midnight.

[frantaylor]

01:44 AM on 01/21/2009

Hats off to cnn.com, akamai, Linux, and Apache for their exceptional performance! Video quality was GREAT and, can you believe, 25 million streams!

If you want to see what web server is running on your favorite site, check out netcraft.com

[klondiker]

12:56 AM on 01/21/2009

I don't really like CNN's online coverage because they show online is different than what they show on TV. They have some weird "special" online coverage that does not feature any of their star reporters or journalists.

MSNBC, on the other hand, shows that same thing online as on TV.

[meinokea]

12:22 AM on 01/21/2009

Some times I get a feeling that what I am watching is not all there is to this story.
Ok we where a slave nation in the 1600, and that part of our history is now over.
There will never be a black leader in England , France or Hungry.
Or maybe this is just the start of a new world.

[harriettubman]

10:15 PM on 01/20/2009

My daughter said her school allowed them to watch today plus when the teachers got a break they were clamoring in the room, filling it up. A lot of people watched today.

[Texas Blue]

08:53 PM on 01/20/2009

Thank God for CNN. I have no teevee.

I did laugh at them, though; they had hot mikes at the capital, hot mikes at the church, hot mikes at the WH...and technical crews who were hysterical.

......"DUDE - hot, black, coffee would be wonderful! DUDE!"
......"Sh*t!"
......"Looks like a (Bush) staffer...head down..."
......"What'll they do with Cheney?"
......"F*CK!"

LOL!

[brad33le]

07:56 PM on 01/20/2009

yet sarah palin still outdrew more millions during her acceptance speech at the conventions than obama, what does that say about this country. imagine if mccain won, that cnn.com number would have been twofold, funny isn't it

[chronic]

08:08 PM on 01/20/2009

Dream on.

[skeptic72]

08:43 PM on 01/20/2009

Someone please tell brad33le the election is over.

[theone718]

06:30 PM on 01/20/2009

How could it be 4 TIMES the previous record. Talk about historic.

[Ugonna]

05:43 PM on 01/20/2009

I didn't have much trouble. Thank God.

[redsongia]

06:45 PM on 01/20/2009

I couldn't log on to cnn, msnbc or abc.

It could be that EVERYBODY in my office logged in at once, and it was an internal problem, though.

[Giada]

05:11 PM on 01/20/2009

Do you think they may be getting the idea? Wake up Rupert your party's over. No president has ever entered office with an approval rating this high.

[SOLERSO68]

08:01 PM on 01/20/2009

Nahh. They KNOW they lost the election because John Mcain was "tew librul".... i hope the fact of whats going on dosnt sink through their 6" thick skulls for a couple more decades.

[AlsoSarah]

04:14 PM on 01/20/2009

I LOVE Andrea Mitchell! If there is ONE person that I would love to be for ONE day, it would be her. What a soldier! She doesn't miss anything! As Brian Williams said, she was riding on the flatbed truck because "she never misses a good time". ROLF. She never misses a story.

[thepoliticalcat]

04:01 PM on 01/20/2009

Here's the message, CNN, Fox, all you other media lickspittles: America is ready for renewal. Stop telling us what to think or feel. Show us our new President. Urge our representatives to do their job, that is, represent us. Then your viewers and readers and listeners will return a hundredfold. We, the people, worked for our President and we want to see our government respond to us.

[SOLERSO68]

08:03 PM on 01/20/2009

agreed....just the (true) facts plz. we can handle it without being told 'what it means" by some blow dried communications major whos dad knew someone on the board.

[ZimboChick]

02:11 AM on 01/21/2009

or a chancer like Pat Buchanan...thank goodness his hatred kept him at home

[nerakami]

03:46 PM on 01/20/2009

I guess that's why it broke down.... was wondering why I couldn't get on.