Is Netflix and co slowing down your internet?

Television streaming services have taken centre stage in recent months, with New Zealand's big players all upping their streaming game in the wake of Netflix arriving on Kiwi screens last month.

While consumers have long used the internet to stream television shows and movies, offerings by Sky, Spark, and Netflix has seen a big move towards purchasing streaming services.

According to a March 2015 Broadband Report by TrueNet, March appears to be the month that demand started to impact supply. "While Most ISPs would have increased capacity to prepare for the extra demand, it would appear the balance of supply and demand we have seen for many months is no longer present,' TrueNet says in a statement.

In March, both Vodafone and Slingshot had 'severe' DSL performance reductions during the peak demand hours of 8pm to 10om, while Snap and Spark also dropped significantly, TrueNet says.

"Over-the-Top-Technology, or OTT, takes a lot of capacity, creating high demand, which requires ISPs to match with increased supply," the company says.

Initial subscriber demand may be very high as new subscribers try out the new service on their Apple TV, binging on desirable programs until the cap runs out. Unlimited service caps are very likely to become the most popular service for OTT subscribers.

"Performance by ISPs changes with variations in demand and supply. A strong growth in customers, or usage (say the introduction of TV on the Internet) needs to be met with an increase in capacity," explains TrueNet.