Netflix to Reduce Quality of Streaming

Netflix to slightly reduce the video quality on its service in Europe as demand for streaming increases.

02:16 25 March 2020

Demand for streaming has dramatically increased as governments all over the world have imposed community lockdowns and ordered people to stay at home whenever possible. To reduce the strain on internet service providers, Netflix said that it will slightly reduce the video quality on its service in Europe for the next 30 days. 

 

However, its movies will remain in high-definition or ultra-high definition 4K. Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, had said earlier that people should “switch to standard definition when HD is not necessary.” An hour of standard definition uses about 1GB of data while HD can use up to 3GB an hour. 

 

In a statement, Netflix said: "Following the discussions between Commissioner Thierry Breton and [Netflix chief executive] Reed Hastings, and given the extraordinary challenges raised by the coronavirus, Netflix has decided to begin reducing bitrates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days," Meanwhile, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that the social media website also saw huge surge in use as users tried to stay connected with friends.