Following Netflix, YouTube Switches To SD In The EU

Only days ago, the European Parliament has asked the streaming giants such as Netflix and Youtube to reconsider their content and quality in the midst of the novel coronavirus outbreak. It came with a surprise when yesterday Netflix announced that it will lessen the load on the internet by switching to the standard definition.

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According to reports, the development came along when telecom providers in continental Europe reported major hikes in periods that were earlier dubbed as ‘Lag Times’. The EU industry chief, Thierry Breton urged all the streaming services to switch to SD to help lower the strain on the internet. Reportedly, Mr. Thierry spoke to both Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.

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Following Netflix, YouTube announced that will stick to the SD for the time being that the virus is contained. Along with reducing streaming quality in Europe, YouTube has even launched a COVID-19 news shelf on its homepage. The shelf will provide users authentic reports about the emerging cases and the followup on earlier cases. Presently, the COVID-19 hub is available in only 16 states, but YouTube says that it will soon be available in more countries.