Energy Efficiency in Streaming: Innovation Reaping Rewards

Here at Netflix, we know that resource efficiency is synonymous with great user experience.

It’s why we invest continuously in improving video encoding technology so that enjoying high-quality video requires the least amount of energy and data. Between 2015 and 2020, we have reduced our bitrates in half — meaning it takes 50% less data today to stream the same amount and quality of video — and we expect further progress in this space.

The latest research on streaming emissions tells us that two industries in the streaming value chain are achieving particularly rapid decarbonization: Data centers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These two industries broadly report that due to technological innovation, a growing demand for data traffic is not correlated to growing energy consumption. Large networks recently also reaffirmed these findings (see e.g. Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom). 

Our advances in video streaming distribution technology help reduce the need for energy-consuming infrastructure, further strengthening these industry trends. 

These diagrams, adapted from Jens Malmodin’s widely used power model, show the relationship between streaming and broadband connections’ energy use relative to other household activities:

We’ve invested over $1 billion in developing Open Connect, our own content delivery network, which we offer for free to ISPs. This includes 18,000 servers with Netflix content distributed across 6,000 locations in over 175 countries. So when our members press play, their film or TV show streams from an Open Connect server right around the corner rather than from halfway around the world. Importantly, this increases efficiency for operators while also ensuring a high-quality, no-lag experience for consumers.

Our engineers make Open Connect servers as efficient as possible: A half rack of eight servers needs only 5.6kW to deliver up to 200,000 streams. That’s 0.028W per stream, less than 1% of the power draw of an LED light bulb in your home. 

What that means is that today, on fixed broadband, we see that data transmitted from pressing "play" on a video has only a marginal to negligible impact on internet networks' energy use, and Netflix members can enjoy streaming in an energy-efficient manner.

When our members stream on mobile instead of fixed broadband, we adapt the quality and resolution of each stream to the size of the screen, allowing them to streamline their own data consumption and energy consumption on their cellular networks without compromising the quality of their viewing experience. 

Looking ahead, Netflix remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint — which stems primarily from the making of film and television (see annual ESG reports here) — and to spurring improvements in the value chain of internet-based services at the speed prescribed by climate science.