• Disney+ will not launch in France until April 7 at the behest of the French government.
• The launch was originally planned for March 24, when the launch is still scheduled to occur for seven other European countries.
• Disney will also be limiting the bandwidth the service uses to help reduce the strain on overburdened networks, just as Netflix and YouTube have done in the last few days.
Disney+ is three days away for several European countries that could really use something to cheer them up, but sadly, users in France will have to wait another two weeks. At the request of the French government , Disney+ has moved its launch in the country from March 24 to April 7.
Encore un peu de patience pour nos fans français, notre service de streaming Disney+ arrive bientôt… mais à la demande du @GouvernementFR, nous avons convenu de reporter le lancement jusqu'au mardi 7 avril 2020. #DisneyPlus — Disney+ FR (@DisneyPlusFR) March 21, 2020 March 21, 2020
In addition, Disney will reducing its bandwidth in all markets, just as YouTube and Netflix are , to help with the strain Europe's networks have been placed under as most of Europe is locked down no sports and no public events to help distract them. EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged all leading streaming platforms to switch to standard definition to help lower the strain on the internet during the COVID-19 crisis.
We haven't heard of the launch being delayed in any other countries — and I'm terribly sorry to French Disneyphiles who will have to wait another two weeks to get their fix — but if the last few weeks have taught us anything, it's that anything is possible and we can take nothing for granted. Be safe out there, and if you can, just stay home and watch some Disney movies like me.
If you need a suggestion, I recommend The Emperor's New Groove , which has aged incredibly well in 20 years. Yeah, that film is 20 years old . Crazy, right?
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