Netflix reduces bitrates in Nigeria, other African countries over coronavirus

The streaming giant says the reduction will provide significant relief to congested networks.

Netflix says it's reducing streaming bitrates across the African continent to help mitigate congestion on internet providers and networks while several African nations go into a lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The streaming media giant had launched the reduction in Italy and Spain and applied it more broadly over Europe earlier in March.

It has now done the same across the African continent starting at midnight on Monday, March 30, 2020. The reduction will be in effect for the next 30 days at least.

"Given the (coronavirus) crisis, we've developed a way to reduce Netflix's traffic on telecommunications networks by 25% while also maintaining the quality of our service," Netflix's VP Content Delivery, Ken Florance, said.

Ken Florance [AV Watch]

He noted that the reduction will provide significant relief to congested networks, but won't significantly affect streaming quality.

"So consumers should continue to get the quality that comes with their plan - whether it's Ultra-High, High or Standard Definition," he said.

As of March 31, 2020, almost 5,000 Africans have been infected with coronavirus, and 172 deaths recorded. Some countries have been forced to go into lockdown to enforce social distancing in a bid to not overwhelm healthcare workers.

Three Nigerian states went into lockdown on Monday after the country recorded 131 cases across 12 states. Eight people have recovered, but two people have also died as a result of coronavirus infection.

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