With the increased government advisories that people work at home and refrain from leaving their dwellings unless absolutely necessary, adult internet companies have found that the increased traffic engendered by that response to the COVID-19 pandemic has created some problems—and this week, adult content provider Porn.com is following in the footsteps of other media-rich brands like Netflix and YouTube by reducing video quality across Europe and in other key regions most affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak.
Amidst the growing concern over the spread of COVID-19 and due to more restrictive measures by governments around the globe, more and more people are spending time at home. As a growing share of the population engages in working, learning and enjoying their entertainment over the internet from home, experts warn of overtaxing bandwidth usage. This recent move by Porn.com is ingended to help balance the load and maintain service for the site's 30 million-plus users worldwide and for others using bandwidth-heavy services while staying isolated.
"We noticed a significant increase in daytime traffic from many European nations and from key regions in North America" noted a spokesperson for the brand. "In an effort to maintain stability for audiences and to anticipate a growing need, we've strategically reduced EU traffic and other areas to standard definition. Our goal is to greatly reduce our digital footprint over the coming days and weeks so that important work and timely communication isn't compromised. Our efforts already seem to be making a difference, in Germany and France in particular."
These new bit rate limitations on streaming content have already gone into effect at Porn.com and are set to stay in place until further notice. Other leading adult content platforms are expected to follow suit in the coming days as online brands all over the world work to accommodate the growing strain. Porn.com maintains that overall service will not be disrupted due to COVID-19, as staff and administrators work remotely to keep the brand's video collection up and running at peak performance.
