[blackwasp]

Video streaming site Netflix has announced lowering of bitrate across all streams in Europe for 30 days.

Netflix will take new actions to reduce bit rates of streams in Europe following a conversation between the European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton and CEO Reed Hastings, the company announced on Thursday.

“Netflix has decided to begin reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe for 30 days,” a spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. “We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25 percent while also ensuring a good quality for our members.”

Netflix’s bit rate reduction comes at a time when Nielsen is estimating that people staying home “can lead to almost a 60 percent increase in the amount of content we watch in some cases and potentially more depending on the reasons” due to the novel coronavirus. Streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, and Hulu — alongside other forms of streaming entertainment — will grow the longer people are stuck at home.

Source

[MDED]

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has also reached out to major online streaming platforms like Amazon, Netflix, Hotstar, Etc. to undertake measures like switching off HD content to ease the pressure on the network of telecom operators. The COAI has also written a letter to the secretary of DoT (Anshu Prakash) requesting the department's intervention.

Source: https://telecom.economictimes.indiat...ality/74756470