Netflix has officially agreed to temporarily reduce its streaming video bit rates in Europe for the next 30 days. The downgrade comes at the behest of the European Union in order to ease the load on internet networks in the region.
Earlier this morning came the news that EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton was in discussions with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings over the last two days urging Netflix to switch to standard-definition video to ease congestion due to millions of quarantined people working remotely.
In a statement, Netflix says it will comply with reducing bit rates on its videos, expecting it will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25% while “also ensuring a good quality service” for its members.
It’s not clear how it will reduce the amount of bandwidth consumed or how it will affect video quality for customers. The downgrade isn’t expected to apply to the U.S. or other territories.
Source: Variety
