Disney+ Lowering Streaming Bandwidth in Europe Due to COVID-19 Congestion

With both YouTube and Netflix agreeing to lower streaming quality to standard definition across Europe to help ease bandwidth strain amid concerns of surges in online traffic during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Disney has now agreed to do something similar with Disney+ when it launches there in a few days. As THR reports, Disney's chairman direct-to-consumer and international, Kevin Mayer, stated "In line with Disney’s longstanding commitment to act responsibly, we are responding to the request of European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to work together to ensure the smooth functioning of the broadband infrastructure." "In anticipation of high consumer demand for Disney+," he continued, "we are proactively instituting measures to lower our overall bandwidth utilization by at least 25 percent in all of the markets launching Disney+ on March 24th. In the coming days, we will be monitoring Internet congestion and working closely with internet service providers to further reduce bit rates as necessary to ensure they are not overwhelmed by consumer demand." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hidden-gems-on-disney-plus-11-classic-movies-to-watch&captions=true"] Disney+ is set to start on March 24 in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. France, having delayed the streaming service, will receive Disney+ on April 7. For those currently social distancing or WFH, here are the best movie and TV soundtracks to listen to while working from home, the most awesome anime on Netflix right now, and a plea for you to watch, or rewatch, FX's Justified (on Hulu). Also, here are how a handful of celebrities are entertaining their fans from home. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/20/animal-crossing-new-horizons-how-to-unlock-everything"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

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