Video Stream Quality Impacts Viewer Behavior: Inferring Causality Using Quasi-Experimental Designs

被引:231
作者
Krishnan, S. Shunmuga [1 ]
Sitaraman, Ramesh K. [2 ]
机构
[1] Akamai Technol, Bangalore 560037, Karnataka, India
[2] Univ Massachusetts, Dept Comp Sci, Amherst, MA 01003 USA
关键词
Causal inference; Internet content delivery; multimedia; quasi-experimental design; streaming video; user behavior; video quality;
D O I
10.1109/TNET.2013.2281542
中图分类号
TP3 [计算技术、计算机技术];
学科分类号
0812 ;
摘要
The distribution of videos over the Internet is drastically transforming how media is consumed and monetized. Content providers, such as media outlets and video subscription services, would like to ensure that their videos do not fail, start up quickly, and play without interruptions. In return for their investment in video stream quality, content providers expect less viewer abandonment, more viewer engagement, and a greater fraction of repeat viewers, resulting in greater revenues. The key question for a content provider or a content delivery network (CDN) is whether and to what extent changes in video quality can cause changes in viewer behavior. Our work is the first to establish a causal relationship between video quality and viewer behavior, taking a step beyond purely correlational studies. To establish causality, we use Quasi-Experimental Designs, a novel technique adapted from the medical and social sciences. We study the impact of video stream quality on viewer behavior in a scientific data-driven manner by using extensive traces from Akamai's streaming network that include 23 million views from 6.7 million unique viewers. We show that viewers start to abandon a video if it takes more than 2 s to start up, with each incremental delay of 1 s resulting in a 5.8% increase in the abandonment rate. Furthermore, we show that a moderate amount of interruptions can decrease the average play time of a viewer by a significant amount. A viewer who experiences a rebuffer delay equal to 1% of the video duration plays 5% less of the video in comparison to a similar viewer who experienced no rebuffering. Finally, we show that a viewer who experienced failure is 2.32% less likely to revisit the same site within a week than a similar viewer who did not experience a failure.
引用
收藏
页码:2001 / 2014
页数:14
相关论文
共 28 条
[1]  
Andreev K., 2003, SPAA, P149
[2]  
[Anonymous], 2012, NEW YORK TIMES
[3]  
[Anonymous], IMC07 P 2007 ACM
[4]  
[Anonymous], AK STREAM PERF MATT
[5]  
[Anonymous], AK STREAM AN SERV DE
[6]  
[Anonymous], 2010, ACM SIGOPSOper. Syst. Rev., DOI DOI 10.1145/1842733.1842736
[7]  
[Anonymous], 2002, EXPT QUASIEXPERIMENT
[8]  
[Anonymous], [No title captured]
[9]  
[Anonymous], 2022, Testing Statistical Hypotheses, DOI [DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-70578-7, 10.1007/978-3-030-70578-7]
[10]  
[Anonymous], RET WEB SIT PERF