Research from Futuresource and InterDigital estimates that the TV and video streaming industry accounts for 4% of total global emissions - double that of the aviation industry, at 2%
Sustainable solutions such as Pixel Value Reduction (PVR) technology have the potential to reap huge energy savings if applied to events such as the Olympics
WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The overall demand for more entertainment and video communication services has highlighted the need for more sustainable solutions across the industry. According to a paper released today by InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC), a mobile and video technology research and development company, and written by leading market research firm Futuresource, the video industry is rapidly emerging as a major emitter of greenhouse gas. Solutions like Pixel Value Reduction (PVR) can reap significant energy savings, especially around significant TV events such as the Olympics.
The report, “Spotlight on Sustainability: Towards a greener TV and video value chain,” analyzes the carbon footprint created by the video entertainment industry, from the point of production to delivery, and consumption. The paper also examines emerging solutions to mitigate the environmental impact across the video value chain.
One of the biggest challenges for the industry comes from Scope 3 emissions, which arise from indirect sources such as travel, accommodation, catering, and post-production. However, strides are being made in various areas:
IP-based remote virtual production, for example, could lower the industry's carbon footprint by 6x less CO2 than on-site methods.
TVs remain the most energy-intensive devices, but investments in AI and brightness-adjustment technologies mean that energy consumption of TVs are set to decline by 15% by 2028.
Overall energy consumption for video entertainment devices – which includes TVs, set-top boxes, media streamers, gaming consoles, smartphones, and tablets – has declined by 17% since 2020, with another 12% reduction expected by 2028, as older devices are replaced with more energy-efficient alternatives.
InterDigital leads the industry in developing cutting-edge video compression standards and PVR technology to achieve lower energy consumption on a device without sacrificing the quality of the video content and experience. If PVR technology was applied to devices showing the recent Paris Olympics, roughly 48 million kWh of energy could have been saved, which is the equivalent of fueling 4,000 US homes for a year.
“While everyone is aware of the contributions the airline industry makes to greenhouse gas emissions–accounting for 2% of all global greenhouse emissions per year–what isn’t common knowledge is the impact the TV and video streaming industry has. Which is in fact, double the emissions from the airline industry.”
“It is the responsibility of the entire industry to make changes that will improve the sustainability of the TV and video sector,” said Lionel Oisel, InterDigital’s Head of Video Labs. “While change is being made, more can and should be done. Technologies like PVR have the potential to make significant energy savings, even when applied to special events like the Olympics. If this was applied universally, the benefits could be huge, and a game changer for the industry.”
Cost savings and need for next-generation technologies to meet changing audience demands will drive sustainability strategies for TV and video companies. The research highlights several ways in which the industry is impacting the environment:
Video as a proportion of all internet traffic continues to rise, with industry estimates placing at 80% of total traffic impacting the CO2 output from data centers.
Since 2023, each hour of film production has equated to an average of 16.6 tCO2e of carbon, equivalent to the energy consumption of two homes per annum.
In 2024, an estimated 54 MtCO2e of emissions were generated from TVs: this is roughly equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 11.7 million passenger vehicles.
Futuresource report that there are now 858 million 4K TVs installed in homes, yet the emissions generated per hour from 4K TVs are around 1.7x that of a 1080 HD TV.
Major sporting events have a significant impact on the environment: this year’s Paris Olympics had an estimated media carbon footprint of 602.8 million tons, with an estimated 1.25 TWh of electricity consumed as a result of streaming across televisions, mobile phones and laptops.
To read the complete report, “Spotlight on Sustainability: Towards a greener TV and video value chain,” please click here.
About InterDigital® InterDigital is a global research and development company focused primarily on wireless, video, artificial intelligence (“AI”), and related technologies. We design and develop foundational technologies that enable connected, immersive experiences in a broad range of communications and entertainment products and services. We license our innovations worldwide to companies providing such products and services, including makers of wireless communications devices, consumer electronics, IoT devices, cars and other motor vehicles, and providers of cloud-based services such as video streaming. As a leader in wireless technology, our engineers have designed and developed a wide range of innovations that are used in wireless products and networks, from the earliest digital cellular systems to 5G and today’s most advanced Wi-Fi technologies. We are also a leader in video processing and video encoding/decoding technology, with a significant AI research effort that intersects with both wireless and video technologies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on Nasdaq.
InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc.
