Netflix overtakes YouTube on Orcon, Slingshot in New Zealand

Netflix's popularity has overtaken YouTube on Slingshot, Orcon and Flip network. Photo / File

Netflix has overtaken YouTube in data usage on three internet providers, showing the "phenomenal growth" the streaming platform has experienced in New Zealand.

In the last 12 months Netflix usage has grown 350 per cent on Orcon, Slingshot and Flip, the internet providers under Vocus.

Taryn Hamilton, general manager of consumer for Vocus, said the growth shows "Kiwis jumping on board and soaking up the service." Recently the volume of traffic from Netflix has surpassed YouTube.

The company tracks the usage trends for different platforms to ensure the network capacity is appropriate for what customers want and is performing well.

"These types of services of immediate viewing it's really noticeable if it's not great quality. It's really important to keep on top of," he said.

Hamilton said while Netflix launched in New Zealand later than the rest of the world, Kiwis have been fast adopters and the popularity would continue to grow.

"We're still catching up," Hamilton said. "It's really interesting to see peaks in Netflix volumes in and around launches of new TV shows."

Winona Ryder in a still from the Netflix series Stranger Things. Photo / AP

Staff plan network capacity around launches of new seasons of popular shows, like Daredevil, or the debut of widely acclaimed new series, like Stranger Things, Hamilton said.

"It's not something I'd imagine guys at work five or six years ago would have been thinking of," he said.

The rise in Netflix's popularity has meant customers are consuming more data than ever before and traditional data caps on monthly plans are no longer the norm.

"Our volume of unlimited customers overtook our traditional data caps, and certainly the majority of the new customers signing up go for unlimited," Hamilton said.

As well as Netflix, data heavy sites like Twitch TV, where people can watch others gaming, and Facebook video content has grown dramatically, Hamilton said.