As demand for streaming services has increased due to many people self-isolating, Netflix have announced it will reduce its video quality across Europe for the next 30 days.
Netflix have said decreasing the quality would reduce data consumption on the platform by 25%. The company has said users will still experience good quality when watching films and TV shows.
The decision to do so comes after discussions between Netflix’s chief executive, Reed Hastings, and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Brenton, who had previously urged people to “switch to standard definition when HD [high-definition] is not necessary”. Brenton also added that doing so would “preserve the smooth functioning of the internet during the Covid-19 crisis”.
After talks between Hastings and Brenton, Netflix said: “Following the discussions between Commissioner Thierry Breton and 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.”
While the change in quality is believed to impact the UK too, Netflix have not yet confirmed this.