Disney+ is arriving in Europe this week. Ahead of its March 24th launch, Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International at the Walt Disney Company, released a statement responding to a request from the European Union to lower bandwidth. In the statement, Mayer said that Disney+ will work to lower bandwidth by 25% or more. This may sacrifice some quality but will help with the efforts of the European Union to reduce internet gridlock for those staying home during the coronavirus lockdown in Europe.
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 utilisation by at least 25% 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 bitrates as necessary to ensure they are not overwhelmed by consumer demand. 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.”
Mayer also shared that Disney+ will be delaying its launch in France until April 7th by the request of the French government.
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