diff --git a/panda/src/downloader/asyncUtility.cxx b/panda/src/downloader/asyncUtility.cxx
index c5ce0cf9ea..a6bfd459d1 100644
--- a/panda/src/downloader/asyncUtility.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/downloader/asyncUtility.cxx
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ create_thread(void) {
   if (_threaded == false && _threads_enabled == true) {
     downloader_cat.debug() 
       << "AsyncUtility::create_thread()" << endl;
-    _thread = thread::create(&st_callback, this);
+    _thread = thread::create(&st_callback, this, thread::PRIORITY_LOW);
     _threaded = true;
   }
 #endif