Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Netflix is reducing its streaming quality in Europe for at least the next month so the internet doesn’t ‘break’.
As unprecedented numbers of people are turning to streaming during quarantine measures, the company has decided they will reduce the bit rate of all their video streams.
The move comes after EU officials appealed to both Netflix and individual users to dispense with high definition video to reduce the pressure on the internet.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who oversees the EU internal market, spoke to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings over two days.
Netflix said: ‘We estimate that this [measure] will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by about 25% while also ensuring a good quality service for our members.’
