‍Live streaming is now the backbone of sports, e-sports, concerts, radio, and interactive gaming, but its environmental footprint is escalating fast. According to research by InterDigital x Futuresource, OTT TV and video services now account for 4% of global CO₂ emissions (around 1.75 billion tonnes annually) already surpassing the combined emissions of aviation and shipping (0.99 billion tonnes). Live events in particular generate unpredictable traffic spikes, which force providers to over-plan on infrastructure, often wasting both bandwidth and energy and further amplifying emissions. But there’s another, greener way of doing things. At System73, our analytics and P2P content delivery solutions reduce reliance on such energy-intensive methods, helping to minimize waste and improve Quality of Experience (QoE) at the same time.

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In this article, we examine the hidden carbon footprint of live streaming, explore how greener delivery infrastructure reduces emissions and costs, and show why sustainable live streaming is now essential for the future of live media.

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The hidden carbon footprint of live streaming

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Behind the scenes of every live stream, from e-sports and concerts to radio and gaming, lies a growing energy challenge. According to the most recent InterDigital x Futuresource study, OTT TV and video streaming now contribute approximately 4% of global CO₂ emissions, already exceeding aviation and shipping combined, which stand at about 2%. This staggering figure comes from energy use across production and distribution, networks and data centres, (which accounts for roughly 80% of all internet traffic), and end-user devices, including televisions, tablets, smartphones, and more. 

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CDNs and data centres have long been positioned as the backbone of video delivery, but their environmental cost is undeniable. The study notes how even CDN providers experiment with renewable energy sourcing and multi-CDN strategies to improve efficiency. But these massive infrastructures are designed for scale, not sustainability. Making data centres “greener” alone will not keep pace with the growth of live video traffic. It is only part of the solution. Without rethinking current content delivery methods, traditional CDNs risk locking the industry into an energy-intensive model that undermines both climate goals and cost efficiency.

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More sustainable live streaming with P2P

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More sustainable live streaming requires reducing reliance on the energy-hungry data centers on a global scale. P2P content delivery provides a powerful alternative. Instead of pushing every stream through centralized CDNs, P2P redistributes the load across the network by enabling viewers’ devices to share segments of the live stream with each other. This dramatically cuts the volume of long-haul data transfers, lowers demand on energy-hungry infrastructures, and turns audience scale into an advantage: the more people watching, the more efficient, and sustainable, the delivery becomes. At System73, our Edge Intelligence content delivery solution is built upon this very premise. 

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But before forming these P2P networks, what we refer to as, centrally orchestrated broadcast trees, we analyse the open internet from top to toe, ensuring the path chosen to send content to end viewers is the cleanest and fastest available. In real terms, our Data Logistics Platform continuously analyzes network conditions in real time to make smarter routing decisions. Streams are directed away from congested or carbon-intensive routes, and resources are dynamically optimized so no capacity sits idle. The result is a delivery model that reduces dependency on massive data centres and improves QoE, as part of a leaner, greener, and more cost-effective solution than traditional approaches. 

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Why sustainable live streaming matters for the future

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The popularity of live streaming is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, which only reinforces the urgency of finding a more sustainable solution. The market for live content is projected to more than triple by 2030, climbing from roughly $87.6 billion in 2023 to over $345 billion by 2030. Parallel to this, real-time viewership is surging. In Q1 of 2024, live-streaming hours were 128% higher than in Q1 of 2019, and 61% higher than Q1 2020 (according to DemandSage), showing just how fast audiences are migrating to live formats. This trend translates directly into greater network pressure, energy use and carbon emissions. 

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As live content becomes more central across sports, gaming, music, and radio, the industry can either continue scaling in ways that overwhelm infrastructure, or adopt smarter, cleaner delivery models. System73 has already proven the latter is possible. In June 2024, our Data Logistics Platform powered the UEFA Champions League Final for viewers worldwide, including audiences in hard-to-reach areas like rural Peru, where physical infrastructure is scarce. Through automated, dynamic routing and peer-to-peer distribution across centrally orchestrated broadcast trees, we dramatically reduced reliance on oversized CDNs and massive data-centres, delivering high QoE for almost every viewer while shrinking environmental impact.

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For more insights into trends in live streaming and content delivery, or to find out more about System73’s Data Logistics Platform, visit www.system73.com.

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