The environmental impact of the digital industry, and the equipment it uses around the world, has emerged as a pressing concern, contributing around 3.8% of global Green House Gas (GHG) emissions according to GreenIT.fr. Within this digital spectrum, video streaming — although currently a smaller portion of the digital industry’s footprint — is rapidly expanding. Sandvine’s 2023 Global Internet Phenomena Report found that data usage from video sites increased by 24% in 2022, and video accounted for a staggering 65% of all internet traffic last year. This trend is not slowing down, meaning there is potential for an even larger carbon footprint on the horizon.
Appear – Lights, camera, green action: how the media industry can embrace sustainability
The media and entertainment industry, while a powerful force in shaping cultural narratives, also carries a hefty environmental footprint. From the colossal energy consumption of data centers to the environmental costs of physical production, the industry’s impact on the planet cannot be ignored. However, a growing tide of awareness is pushing media companies to embrace sustainability and minimize their environmental impact.
Accedo – Can AI support the transition towards a more sustainable video ecosystem?
The OTT industry has undergone some major changes over the past few years. Market growth slowed somewhat compared to previous years and video providers have broadened their monetization strategies and shifted focus from subscriber growth to profitability. Despite this, the OTT video industry remains buoyant; according to analysis by Statista, the industry is projected to show an annual growth rate of 6.30% between 2024 and 2029, to reach US$429.40bn by 2029. This change of focus towards profitability is driving service providers to provide a better experience for viewers and optimize their services. However, there is a need to balance this drive for profitability with the industry-wide need to transition towards a sustainable video ecosystem.
Newsbridge – Best practices for evaluating the carbon emissions of cloud-based media workflows
In the era of increasing environmental consciousness, media companies are under growing pressure to address their impact on the world. Going digital may seem like a step in the right direction, but the digital sector relies on equipment and infrastructure that is networked across the entire planet. The environmental impact of this infrastructure is proving to be increasingly worrisome. According to estimates, the digital sector represents 2% to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption is growing by 9% each year. Behind these figures, it’s important to emphasize that video represents 82% of internet traffic, and the volume of data stored in data centers is experiencing hyper-growth of 40% per year.
This article will explore the challenges of measuring carbon emissions output, sharing strategies for media companies to ensure sustainable cloud-based media workflows.
Genelec – Sustainability: we’re all in this together
With the current climate crisis acting as a daily reminder of the scale of the problems facing us globally, it’s essential that we as an industry all commit to being part of the solution by putting sustainability at the very heart of our business. At Genelec we don’t see this as a regulatory hurdle to overcome or an opportunity to try and ‘greenwash’ a corporate image to make ourselves look better, but something that is crucial for the broadcast sector to survive and thrive.
MainStreaming – 2023 IBC BaM Award winner, Publish
MainStreaming is a Carbon Neutral Intelligent Media Delivery Company, providing sustainable video delivery technology for broadcasting, streaming, and the media and entertainment industries via our Edge Video Delivery Network services.
Josh Arensberg elected new Chair of the IABM Members’ Board
Josh Arensberg was elected Chair of the IABM Members’ Board in July this year. We asked him to share his vision for where he sees IABM – and our industry – heading.
V-Nova – Sustainable streaming: the state of play and what’s next
Sustainability is undeniably a pressing concern within the video streaming industry, and the latest data about emissions generated by the sector underscores the urgency of addressing its environmental impact. As has been widely quoted, with between 2% and 4% of global energy usage accounted for by ICT and with more than 70% of internet traffic associated with video, it is clear that improving our energy footprint can have a significant impact on the problem overall.
Varnish Software – Making streaming more sustainable: three effective methods for achieving more with less
Streaming might be our favorite pastime, but beneath the surface, it’s a colossal energy-guzzling process that’s taking a toll on our planet.
Today, the average consumer worldwide spends about 19 hours a week streaming video – but this can be much, much higher for some. And with a population of more than 742,200,000, Europeans could have streamed more than 735 billion hours – or 83 million years – of content in 2022 alone!
To put this into perspective, every hour of video streamed emits roughly 55g of CO2e. This would mean that Europeans streaming habits account to roughly 40.4 million metric tons of CO2e in just one year – the equivalent of driving 210 billion km, given the average gas-powered car emits 192g of CO2e per km.
MediaKind – Using the latest ‘green’ video encoding tech can help broadcasters slash their CAPEX, OPEX, & energy rates
Adopting real-time streaming experiences such as live events, interactive video, cloud gaming, video communications, and virtual worlds is soaring. Meeting this demand with CPU-based codecs can often be expensive and inefficient, unnecessarily boosting CAPEX, OPEX, and carbon emissions generated by CPU-based encoding. In a breakthrough for the video processing sector, Tony speaks to us about how organizations can tap into GPU-based solutions that substantially trim down operating costs, capital expenditure, and energy usage.