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Audit-Ready Carbon Reporting for Media and Entertainment

Track streaming data center energy, content production emissions, broadcast facility carbon, and digital infrastructure per subscriber or content hour.

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The Industry Hotspot: Data Center Energy for Streaming

60-80% from data centers

For streaming media companies, 60-80% of carbon footprint is Scope 2 (data centers hosting content) and Scope 3 Category 1 (cloud infrastructure). A global streaming service with 200M subscribers consumes 500-1,000 GWh/year for data centers and CDNs (content delivery networks). Energy per subscriber-hour varies: HD streaming 0.05-0.1 kWh/hr, 4K streaming 0.1-0.2 kWh/hr. Traditional broadcast/cable: Studio and transmission tower energy 10-20% of footprint. Content production adds 10-15% (set construction, lighting, travel for filming). NetNada tracks data center PUE, calculates streaming energy per subscriber-hour, measures production set emissions, and generates SASB SV-ME disclosures.

SASB Industry Definition

The Media & Entertainment industry consists of entities that create, distribute, and monetize content across multiple platforms including streaming services, broadcast television and radio, cable networks, film and television production, music production and distribution, publishing (digital and print), and digital advertising platforms. Revenue comes from subscriptions, advertising, content licensing, and theatrical releases. Digital transformation has shifted emissions from physical distribution (DVDs, newspapers) to data center energy for streaming and cloud platforms.

View SASB Standard →

Industry-Specific Carbon Accounting

No generic solutions. Metrics, data sources, and reporting aligned to Media & Entertainment operations.

Streaming Energy per Subscriber-Hour

Calculate: Total data center kWh ÷ Total subscriber-hours streamed = kWh/subscriber-hour. HD video streaming: 0.05-0.1 kWh/hr. 4K/UHD: 0.1-0.2 kWh/hr (higher bitrate, more processing). Example: 10 billion subscriber-hours/year × 0.08 kWh/hr = 800 GWh × 0.6 tCO2/MWh = 480,000 tCO2. Report carbon per subscriber or per content hour delivered.

kWh per subscriber-hour

Data Center PUE and Cloud Infrastructure

PUE = Total facility energy ÷ IT equipment energy. Streaming companies using AWS/Azure/GCP (PUE 1.1-1.3) vs on-premise data centers (PUE 1.6-1.8). Cloud migration reduces energy 20-35% per workload. Track: % infrastructure on cloud vs on-premise. Report: Total data center emissions and PUE across portfolio.

Data center PUE tracked

Film/TV Production Carbon Footprint

Production emissions sources: Set construction (lumber, steel embodied carbon), Diesel generators (location filming without grid access), Cast/crew travel (flights, hotels), Catering (food waste, packaging). Calculate per project: Typical feature film 500-2,000 tCO2, TV episode 100-300 tCO2. Green production practices: On-grid power vs generators (80% reduction), Virtual sets (reduce construction), Local crews (reduce travel).

tCO2 per production

CDN Energy Efficiency

Content Delivery Networks cache content closer to users (reduce long-haul data transfer). Energy efficiency: Edge CDN servers vs origin data centers. Track: TB data delivered, kWh/TB delivered. Industry leaders: 0.01-0.05 kWh/GB delivered. Optimize: Adaptive bitrate streaming (reduce unnecessary high-res streams), Video compression (AV1 codec 30% more efficient than H.264).

kWh per TB delivered

Broadcast Transmission Energy

Traditional broadcasters: Transmission towers and satellite uplinks. TV broadcast tower: 10-50 kW continuous load. Radio tower: 1-5 kW. Calculate: kWh/broadcast hour. Transition to digital broadcasting more energy-efficient than analog (30-40% reduction). Streaming displaces broadcast infrastructure (shift from Scope 1+2 to Scope 3 cloud).

Transmission tower energy

SASB SV-ME Metrics Automation

Auto-generate disclosure: Energy consumption (data centers, studios), % from renewable energy, content production emissions, diversity metrics (% women/minorities in content and workforce). Footnotes cite streaming hours and subscriber counts.

SASB SV-ME compliant

Product Features for Media & Entertainment

Use Carbon Data Uploader to import data center energy bills, streaming subscriber-hours, and production budgets for automated media carbon calculations. Learn more →

The Activity Calculator applies emission factors for data centers, diesel generators, and travel—calculating media production and streaming carbon footprints. Learn more →

Related Solutions

See our Carbon Accounting solution for end-to-end media emissions tracking from data centers through content production and broadcast facilities.

View solution

Media & Entertainment Case Studies

How entities in this industry use NetNada to solve carbon accounting challenges.

Global Streaming Service (150M subscribers, 30B hours streamed/year)

Challenge

Investor ESG questionnaire required Scope 2 disclosure for data center energy and Scope 3 Category 11 for subscriber device energy. Rapid growth (20M new subscribers/year) increasing energy footprint. Needed per-subscriber carbon intensity metric.

Solution

Deployed NetNada with cloud provider carbon data integration. Tracked: AWS data center energy for streaming (estimated 600 GWh/year via AWS customer carbon footprint tool, PUE 1.2). Calculated: 600 GWh ÷ 30B subscriber-hours = 0.02 kWh/subscriber-hour (efficient CDN caching). Optional Scope 3: Subscriber device energy (TVs, phones) 0.1 kWh/hr × 30B = 3,000 GWh/year.

Result

Baseline carbon: Data centers 360,000 tCO2 (Scope 3 Category 1 purchased cloud services). Subscriber devices 1.8M tCO2 (Scope 3 Category 11, disclosed separately). Published per-subscriber carbon: 150M subscribers = 2.4 kgCO2/subscriber/year from infrastructure. Committed to 100% renewable energy matching for cloud services by 2025 (RECs), reducing Scope 3 Category 1 by 90%.

Film/TV Production Studio (25 productions/year, 10 films + 15 TV series)

Challenge

Talent and crew demanded green production practices. Diesel generators for location filming represented 40% of production emissions. Studios (California) mandated carbon reporting for film permits. Needed production-level carbon tracking.

Solution

Used NetNada to track per-production: Generator fuel logs (diesel gallons), Set construction material bills (lumber, steel), Travel expense data (flights, hotels for cast/crew). Calculated: Average feature film 800 tCO2 (400 tCO2 generators, 200 tCO2 travel, 150 tCO2 set materials, 50 tCO2 other). TV episode 150 tCO2.

Result

Implemented green production guidelines: Grid power hookups instead of generators where possible (12 of 25 productions, 60% diesel reduction), Virtual production (LED walls replace location travel for 3 productions, 200 tCO2/production saved), Reusable set materials. Average production: 800 → 520 tCO2 per film (35% reduction). Marketed 'carbon-conscious productions' for ESG-focused streaming platforms.

SASB Disclosure Topics for Media & Entertainment

Material sustainability topics beyond emissions that investors and stakeholders expect disclosed per SASB standards.

Data Center Energy Management

environment

Track electricity consumption for content hosting, CDNs, and streaming infrastructure. Report PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), % from renewable energy, and energy per subscriber-hour.

Content Production Emissions

environment

Monitor emissions from film/TV production: Set construction materials, diesel generators for location filming, cast/crew travel, and post-production facilities. Report tCO2 per production hour or per project.

Broadcast Facility Energy

environment

For traditional broadcasters: Track studio electricity, transmission tower energy, satellite uplink power. Report energy intensity per broadcast hour.

Content Moderation and Data Privacy

governance

Disclose content moderation policies, user data privacy practices, and compliance with regulations (GDPR, COPPA for children's content).

Intellectual Property Protection

governance

Report anti-piracy measures, copyright enforcement, and content licensing compliance.

Diversity in Content and Employment

social

Track diversity of on-screen talent (gender, ethnicity), writers, directors, and executives. Report diversity and inclusion initiatives.

NetNada tracks all SASB material topics, not just emissions. Our platform supports disclosure across environmental, social, governance, and business model topics relevant to your industry.

Media & Entertainment FAQs

Common questions about carbon accounting for this industry

How do you calculate carbon emissions for video streaming?
Streaming carbon = Data center energy + Network transmission energy + Customer device energy. (1) Data center (Scope 2 or Scope 3 if cloud): kWh/subscriber-hour × Grid factor. HD streaming ~0.05-0.1 kWh/hr. (2) Network (Scope 3): Long-haul fiber + CDN edge, ~0.01-0.02 kWh/GB delivered. (3) Customer device (Scope 3 Category 11, optional): TV 100W, laptop 50W, phone 5W. Most carbon in customer device (60-80% of total). Industry focus: Data center efficiency (PUE, renewable energy). Report infrastructure carbon (Scope 1-2-3 Category 1), optionally report end-user device separately.
Should streaming companies include customer device energy in their carbon footprint?
Customer device energy is Scope 3 Category 11 (Use of Sold Products) - optional to report. Arguments for including: Represents 60-80% of streaming lifecycle carbon (TVs, laptops consuming electricity), company influences via app efficiency (optimized codecs reduce bitrate/energy). Arguments against: Customers control device choice and usage hours, same device used for other activities (not solely streaming). Best practice: Report infrastructure carbon (data centers, CDN) as primary metric, disclose estimated customer device carbon separately with methodology notes and efficiency initiatives (codec optimization).
What's the carbon impact of film production diesel generators vs grid power?
Diesel generators for location filming: 10-20 kW per set (lighting, equipment) × 12 hr/day × 60 days filming = 7,200-14,400 kWh × 0.7 kgCO2/kWh diesel (higher than grid) = 5,000-10,000 kgCO2 per production. Grid power hookup: Same kWh × 0.4-0.6 kgCO2/kWh grid = 2,880-8,640 kgCO2 (40-50% reduction). Additional generator inefficiency (fuel transport, part-load operation). Best practice: Use grid where available, battery storage + solar for remote locations (Hollywood studios deploying mobile battery systems), hybrid generator-battery for redundancy.
How energy-efficient are different video codecs for streaming?
Video compression affects bitrate → data transfer → energy. H.264 (older codec): 5-8 Mbps for 1080p HD. H.265/HEVC: 2.5-4 Mbps for same quality (50% bitrate reduction). AV1 (newer): 1.5-3 Mbps (30% better than H.265, 70% better than H.264). Energy savings: Lower bitrate = Less data transferred = Less CDN energy + Less customer device decoding energy. Netflix AV1 rollout saved 20% streaming energy. Trade-off: AV1 requires more encoding compute (higher production carbon, offset by billions of streams). Report: % content delivered in AV1/HEVC vs H.264.
Do digital news publishers have lower carbon footprint than print newspapers?
Lifecycle comparison: Print newspaper = Pulp/paper production (0.9-1.2 kgCO2/kg paper), Printing presses (energy + ink), Physical distribution (truck delivery). Typical: 5-10 kgCO2 per newspaper produced and delivered. Digital news = Data center hosting (0.001 kgCO2/article view), Network transmission negligible, Customer device energy (phone/laptop 5-50W). Digital news: 0.01-0.05 kgCO2 per user session (100x lower than print). Caveat: Digital devices have embodied carbon (amortize over lifetime) but still net lower emissions. Shift from print to digital = 80-95% carbon reduction per readership equivalent.

Track Streaming Data Center Energy and Content Production Emissions

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