Achieving 99% uptime & sub-millisecond latency with Redis on Google Cloud

The challenge

JioCinema, India’s most downloaded app, faced massive hurdles managing intense demand surges, especially during popular events like the Indian Premier League (IPL), when millions of viewers tune in at once. The stakes were high: Any lag, buffering, or downtime risked disappointing users and damaging the brand’s reputation. To keep up with user expectations, JioCinema needed a technology that could handle unpredictable peaks in traffic while providing smooth, uninterrupted playback.

“To serve 100 million customers, there’s not much room for error,” says Prachi Sharma, associate vice president at JioCinema. “Our technology choices have to deliver unwavering speed, scalability, and reliability to prevent disruptions and maintain a seamless experience.”

JioCinema also needed solutions that could anticipate and preemptively tackle potential problems.

Sharma and her team also wanted a platform that supported interactive features like leaderboards, games, and personalized watch history—all while maintaining flawless performance under heavy user loads.

Keeping playback fast and reliable—even during traffic surges

JioCinema turned to Redis to cache playback URLs (mostly static data), support interactive features (e.g., stickers and leaderboards), and provide real-time viewership tracking. Redis is fast, flexible, and integrates easily with JioCinema’s large-scale infrastructure, offering high availability and low-latency solutions right out of the box.

Redis’ lightning-fast data store on Google Cloud Platform gives JioCinema users exactly what they expect: Reliable streaming with almost zero lag. Whether loading the latest episode of a hit show or navigating through the app, Redis’ rapid caching delivers a smooth, responsive UX.

“We’re always prepared for unexpected spikes, from viral clips to breaking news,” says Sharma.
Even with massive demand surges, Redis’ caching of playback URLs keeps latency impressively low. Under heavy loads, Redis adjusts dynamically, giving viewers seamless, uninterrupted streaming—no matter how many people are tuning in simultaneously.

Our platform also helps JioCinema’s team work faster by improving the efficiency of data processing. Every day, millions of mobile users interact with JioCinema through multiple platforms, creating immense amounts of user-generated data. This data flows through Apache Kafka and into Redis, where pipelining and batch writes process it quickly, reducing latency and increasing overall system throughput.

Measuring streaming consumption to support business decisions

Redis plays a critical role in caching live stream totals and tracking viewership. This data is crucial for business forecasting and creating scalable traffic predictions, especially during high-stakes events like athletic finals or highly anticipated reality shows.

“By caching and monitoring the number of viewers watching live, Redis keeps our platform responsive and stable, even when viewership is through the roof,” Sharma says.

This real-time data is far from a vanity metric. JioCinema uses it to make operations more efficient. It lets business teams make fast decisions around any strategic adjustments, content changes, or ad placements that may be needed based on live viewer counts. Redis’ efficient caching provides JioCinema with precise, up-to-the-second data at every stage, delivering seamless performance and user engagement during critical peak moments.

Expanding interactivity to keep viewers engaged

Beyond caching and live data counters, JioCinema relies on Redis as a primary database for powering user interactions during major live sporting events. Redis makes sure that critical data remains readily available, improving the performance, speed, and reliability of JioCinema’s streaming service.

For example, when JioCinema secured the rights to stream the IPL finals—events with viewership numbers surpassing the Super Bowl—the stakes were enormous. To manage the massive influx of viewers, JioCinema quickly built services around Redis, enabling the platform to scale rapidly and reliably.

Unique features like interactive live-stream stickers, stored in Redis, add an exciting layer of engagement, allowing fans to interact dynamically during games. Redis’ efficient storage capabilities also help JioCinema reduce data storage costs without compromising performance.

Meeting viewers’ expectations with scalable performance

Redis has become the backbone of JioCinema’s underlying digital infrastructure. Reliable caching means the platform can handle any number of viewers, deliver premium streaming performance, and provide a UX that brings millions of viewers back for more content.

The platform’s out-of-the-box functionality has enabled JioCinema to deploy quickly, meet critical deadlines, and strategize more effectively, resulting in 100% internal satisfaction. With Redis, JioCinema has achieved 99% uptime and 0.7 millisecond latency, delivering a consistent, high-quality playback experience for over 100 million daily users.