InterDigital, in partnership with FutureSource, recently conducted a study on the carbon footprint of the video entertainment industry, from production to delivery to consumption. A notable point of this study: [abc]streaming[/abc] represents 4% of global carbon emissions, while the aeronautics industry is only at 2%.
Global streaming market, the figures££££
Since 2023, each hour of film production is equivalent to an average of 16.6 tCO2e (i.e. tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a commonly used unit of measurement), equivalent to the annual consumption of two households per year. In 2024, 54 MtCO2e (megaton) were generated by televisions broadcasting [abc]streaming[/abc] content (i.e. the emissions released for 1 hour of streaming in [abc]Ultra HD[/abc] [abc]4K[/abc] are 1.7x greater than for 1 hour of streaming [abc]1080p[/abc]), i.e. the equivalent of the greenhouse gas emissions of 11.7 million passenger vehicles.
Taking the specific case of the last Olympic Games in Paris 2024, the carbon footprint is estimated at 602.8 million tonnes, with 1.25 TWh of electricity consumed resulting from streaming TV, smartphones and computers. 48 million kWh (enough to power 4,000 homes per year) could have been saved by using digital video recorders, and therefore by viewing them after the fact. Other solutions discussed include remote virtual production rather than on-site, and adaptive brightness technologies on televisions to limit their consumption.
The floor to Lionel Oisel, head of InterDigital's video labs££££
"It is the responsibility of the entire industry to make changes that will improve the sustainability of the television and video sector," said Lionel Oisel, head of InterDigital's video labs. "While changes are underway, more can and must be done. Technologies such as the digital video recorder have the potential to achieve significant energy savings, even when applied to special events such as the Olympic Games. If applied universally, the benefits could be enormous and game-changing for the industry."
