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COVID-19: Netflix, Zee5, YouTube reduce streaming bitrates in India

Update (24 March): Netflix said that it will join other streaming services in India and reduce the bitrates of its videos to avoid congesting networks. This comes as the COVID-19 outbreak has led to telecom companies to put pressure on the government and streaming services to reduce this load on their networks. Earlier (23 March): Zee5 CEO Tarun Katial said the company would reduce streaming bitrates as the COVID-19 pandemic increases strain on internet infrastructure. "We strongly believe that, given the current scenario where the internet consumption is at an all-time high due to COVID-19 and self-isolation, we will continue to serve the best of quality entertainment for audiences across India at the most appropriate and minimal bitrate required," Katial said. Voot COO Gourav Rakshit also said the company would reduce streaming bitrates for users, adding that most Voot users were already limited to SD (standard definition) already. Amazon Prime Video has also started reducing streaming bitrates in India, the company said in a statement. Hoichoi has removed the option for 1080p downloads and is working to reduce the maximum streaming resolution to 720p, the company's head of revenue and strategy Soumya Mukherjee said in a statement. Hotstar said that it would not make any changes to its streaming bitrates for the moment, and pointed out that most of its customers do not get HD streaming in the first place: "[A] bulk of our customers are bound by their Hotstar subscription plans and cannot stream videos at high bit-rates. Our HD resolution…

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