Disney+ stops UHD streaming in Europe due to patent litigation

NEWS: Disney+ stops UHD streaming in Europe due to patent litigation If you remember, during COVID, the European Commission requested that Disney+ reduce its streaming bitrates in Europe to help preserve Internet capacity while millions of people were working from home. After COVID, Disney+ restored UHD streaming in Europe, much to the delight of its customers. In 2025, InterDigital sued Disney over alleged HDR patent infringement. Dolby, which licenses Dolby Vision to Disney, subsequently defended its technology by suing InterDigital for HDR patent infringement in California in 2026. But InterDigital had also initiated litigation against Disney over the use of HEVC. That case was recently decided in Germany , arguably the most active country in Europe when it comes to video IP litigation, and Disney was forced to stop UHD streaming in Europe. The next question is: what happens to the other major streamers? Netflix has already started migrating toward AV1, as has Amazon. WBD could be next, and it does not appear to have embraced AV1 to the same extent, potentially making it more exposed. This situation demonstrates the strategic importance of AV1 as an alternative to HEVC, although its promise of being “royalty-free” still has to stand the test of time. For those wondering how China is approaching UHD, it has developed its own ecosystem under UWA specifications, where the codec, HDR, and NGA technologies are 100% based on Chinese IP. I was already disappointed to see UHD being used less during the 2026 World Cup than during the 2022 edition, largely for economic reasons. I had hoped streaming would show the way forward. Now we see UHD being challenged in streaming as well, for a very different set of economic reasons: intellectual property and licensing. As Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign famously put it: "It’s the economy, stupid.” David Ronca Benjamin Schwarz Ian Nock Yoeri Geutskens Jan Ozer