Driving Sustainable Climate Transition of Video-On-Demand Platforms at a Time of Transformation

Project Information

StreamSCAPES

Grant agreement ID: 101177811

DOI

10.3030/101177811

EC signature date 1 October 2024

Start date 1 March 2025

End date 31 August 2028

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 3 590 091,12

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - StreamSCAPES (Driving Sustainable Climate Transition of Video-On-Demand Platforms at a Time of Transformation)

Reporting period: 2025-03-01 to 2026-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

StreamSCAPES explores the under-utilised strengths, existing challenges and knowledge, practice and policy gaps in the VOD services in Europe, which hinder or enable their sustainable climate transition (SCT). It focuses on four key dimensions of the SCT of VOD services in Europe: 1) Industry and professionals - examining production processes, business models, and professional practices and needs; 2) Consumption and everyday practices - investigating user behaviours and patterns of media consumption, with an emphasis on children and youth; 3) Institutions and policies - analysing regulatory frameworks and governance structures; 4) Storytelling and narrative - exploring how SCT is communicated through audiovisual content.
Overall, the project acknowledges the growing importance of VOD platforms as central nodes within the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), representing a dynamic intersection of technology, business models, consumption habits, and cultural meaning-making. By focusing on the VOD services, StreamSCAPES offers meaningful insights into how production, consumption, and decision-making processes within the CCIs can actively contribute and support the SCT in Europe and abroad. Specifically, StreamSCAPES will provide (a) an interdisciplinary mapping and assessment of the ways in which it is possible to substantially “green” the operations of VOD platforms in the CCIs, (b) pilot the transformative impact of VOD platforms to engage in “Blue Skies” generation of ideas through a ‘hubs’ based approach, in the form of a future studies approach with a special focus on children and youth, and (c) co-test the potential of VOD platforms to contribute to the SCT in line with the European Industrial Strategy and the European Green Deal. To achieve this, a multi-stakeholder team of four core academics and eight key stakeholders, including several European VOD platforms, combines original data and knowledge and collates best practices.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the first reporting period, StreamSCAPES achieved significant progress toward its objectives. Careful and effective project management ensured the timely submission of deliverables and the successful completion of all planned milestones. Work Packages (WPs) 1, 6, and 9 have been fully completed, resulting in a total of nine deliverables. At the same time, two key research WPs - 2 and 3 - have been successfully initiated, with several core activities already underway, including interviews, survey design, tool refinement and workshops’ preparation for the further testing at the WP4. The StreamSCAPES research teams adopted a combined quantitative and qualitative approach, encompassing comprehensive literature reviews and the establishment of infrastructure for data collection and analysis. Through active engagement with industry professionals and stakeholders, the project has begun to generate valuable insights exploring and supporting the sustainable climate transition (SCT) of the VOD services in Europe.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Objective A, To provide an interdisciplinary analysis of how VOD platform operations in the CCIs can be substantially “greened,” while actively involving creators and stakeholders in the process:
During the first reporting period, the project analysed over 120 policy and legal documents, organised “set-the-stage” workshops with 24 professionals and stakeholders, conducted 33 interviews across at least 9 EU Member States and associated countries, created a contact database with more than 7,000 entries across 30 countries, and prepared two online surveys targeting in total 500 audiovisual professionals and stakeholders.

Objective B, To pilot the transformative potential of VOD platforms through a future-oriented, hubs-based “Blue Skies” approach, with particular attention to children and youth:
Activities undertaken included mapping consumption trends through the preparation of an online survey targeting 1.000 young people, developing three sets of questionnaires for interviews with professionals and stakeholders across at least 12 countries, and preparing focus groups involving at least 300 children and young people from more than 19 Member States and associated countries.

Objective C, To co-test the contribution of VOD platforms to the sustainable climate transition in line with the European Industrial Strategy, the European Green Deal, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
In the first reporting period, the consortium updated the Green Producers Tool (GPT), initiated the development of the Green Streaming Tool (GST), prepared pilot trials with four VOD platform beneficiaries and affiliated companies operating across 19 countries, engaged policymakers and industry networks through workshops and clustering activities, and published the first StreamSCAPES policy brief translating research findings into policy recommendations.