Disney+ has joined a multitude of streaming platforms that have agreed to temporarily reduce their data consumption in Europe as COVID-19 continues to spread.
The European Union wanted the yet-to-be-released streaming platform to reduce their bandwidth as well as video quality so internet networks in Europe would not be overloaded.
On March 21, Chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International Kevin Mayer announced the final decision. Mayer explained, “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+, we are proactively instituting measures to lower our overall bandwidth utilization by at least 25% in all of the markets launching Disney+ on March 24th," he continued. "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."
He closed by saying, "We look forward to the launch of Disney+ and hope it will provide a much-needed respite for families in these challenging and trying times.”
While Disney+ launches in most of Europe on March 24, the House of Mouse and the French government "agreed to postpone the launch until Tuesday, 7 April 2020.”
The Disney streaming service joined the ranks of streamers include Netflix, YouTube and Apple+ to comply with the EU's requests.
Disney+ will launch in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland on March 24, with its launch in France set for April 7.
(via Variety)