Many great ideas at Netflix begin with a question, and three years ago, we asked one of our boldest yet: if we were to entertain the world through Live — a format almost as old as television itself —…

The Netflix Tech Blog provides insights into the engineering practices, architecture, and innovations behind the Netflix streaming platform. Developers can learn about Netflix's microservices architecture, data infrastructure, and machine learning algorithms, as well as explore topics such as video encoding, content delivery, and personalization algorithms used in the Netflix service.

Netflix TechBlog

Netflix built a comprehensive live streaming architecture over three years, handling events from comedy specials to NFL games and boxing matches. The system leverages dedicated broadcast facilities, cloud-based transcoding pipelines using AWS MediaConnect and MediaLive, the Open Connect CDN for global delivery, and HTTPS-based streaming with AVC/HEVC codecs. Key learnings include the importance of extensive testing, regular practice events, viewership prediction, graceful degradation strategies, and comprehensive contingency planning with dedicated launch rooms and game day exercises.

Behind the Streams: Three Years Of Live at Netflix. Part 1.

| But First: What Makes Live Streaming Different?

| Key Pillars of Netflix Live Architecture