Netflix Will Start Lowering Video Quality in Europe to Help Networks (Updated)

The coronavirus has come for Netflix. In Europe, to try and help with network load and strain, Netflix has decided to lower quality on video streams to standard definition for the time being.

With so many folks staying at home, our internet connections are all going to be more important than ever. Since streaming video takes up the most bandwidth, reducing video quality like Netflix is doing in Europe could certainly make a difference. Again, our home internet is going to be more important than ever in the coming weeks and months.

Netflix is following a recommendation from EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and has decided to reduce bit rates across European streams for the next 30 days.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Netflix spokesperson said, “We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 percent while also ensuring a good quality service for our members.”

So far, the US does not appear to have the same internet concerns. That could change, and should it, we’ll let you know.

• UPDATE: YouTube (via Reuters) and Amazon Prime (via Engadget) are doing the same.

// Business Insider