Disney+ will launch in the UK later this week with a 25% reduction in video quality in order to meet the increased broadband demands caused by coronavirus.
Usage of home entertainment services has risen sharply in recent weeks as people around the globe self-isolate at home and last week Netflix took the decision to scale back video quality to cope with demand.
Disney+ makes its highly-anticipated launch in the UK on Tuesday with a launch lineup including all films in the Marvel franchise and Frozen 2, as well as the Star Wars back catalogue and new spinoff series The Mandalorian.
"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 24 March," said Disney executive Kevin Mayer.
"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."
Meanwhile, Disney has agreed to a request from the French government to delay the launch of the service there until April 7.
Neil Wilkes
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