Netflix was an example that many liked to point to on a wide range of issues. Internet congestion, mobile data issues, the future of home entertainment...Netflix was often referenced, as good or bad, on many fronts. And now, Sandvine (News - Alert), speaking at The Cable Show yesterday, revealed that Netflix has "hit its peak", and that other similar services are starting to gain traction.

Sandvine's Global Internet Phenomena report, as presented by Sandvine's chief technology officer, Don Bowman, showed that Netflix accounts for 33 percent of downstream traffic during peak hours on cable internet networks. However, Sandvine's numbers also project a downward trend for Netflix's traffic numbers starting as early as 2013.

Sandvine's motive behind such a projection is the rise of other streaming video providers like HBO Go, Hulu (News - Alert) Plus, saying that they're pulling out all the stops in a bid to angle some of that traffic. Since Sandvine's primary focus is in business intelligence, especially what they refer to as a "Real-Time Entertainment Dashboard", they're fairly well-placed to explain some of the ebb and flow of the Internet's traffic sources.

And indeed, they've got a point. Netflix has been having quite a bit of trouble getting what it needs to survive, content. Studios have been at issue with Netflix for a long time in terms of what Netflix is allowed to put up for streaming content and what they're not. For instance, when Netflix first began dealing with Starz, which offered up Disney (News - Alert) content as well as a wide variety of films, Starz wanted $30 million for the streaming rights. A year later, when contract renewal talks began, Starz reportedly wanted nearly 12 times that number, $350 million, to allow Netflix to continue showing Starz products on their service.

It's safe to say that other streaming video services, like HBO Go, have seen the success of Netflix and realized that the viewers want services exactly like that. HBO Go, however, has taken its own lumps with users because it requires a cable service authentication in order to access the streaming portion, so its own success will remain to be seen. And with services like Netflix actively developing their own content--Netflix already has one original series in Lilyhammer, and is said to be working on the next Arrested Development season--the streaming video wars are in no danger of losing ground any time soon.

Just how well the other services do, will depend largely on their content offerings. With a variety of services in the field, and more original content set to arrive, streaming videos will find themselves running much like cable networks, offering certain content to certain viewer demographics. It will remain to be seen just how well it will work in the end, but the end result should remain the same: more choices for viewers and a more competitive market overall.