French TV Alliance ADMTV Unveils a Quality-Weighted Carbon KPI for Video Ads
France's ADMTV and specialist DK have launched a metric measuring CO2e per completed viewed second per 1,000 contacts — and it shows social video far out-emitting linear TV.
The new metric
France's TV advertising alliance ADMTV, with carbon-measurement specialist DK, has launched a new KPI: grams of CO2e per second viewed and completed, per 1,000 contacts — weighting a campaign's footprint by reach, viewability and completion rather than raw impressions. It was published on 9 September 2026.
The headline figures are stark: linear TV at 12.9 gCO2e, BVOD at 17.7g, and social video at 1,773.6g on the same measure. Combining linear TV and BVOD, the alliance says, can mean up to 2.7 times fewer emissions than other environments.
Read the methodology, not just the number
Two things are true at once here. First, weighting carbon by exposure quality — did the ad actually get seen and completed? — is a genuine methodological advance over crude per-impression counts, and a useful discipline for any ESG-minded media plan. Second, it is no coincidence that a TV-backed body produced a metric that flatters TV and penalises social video.
Our read: buyers should treat the framework as valuable and the specific numbers as interested. The right response is not to accept or dismiss it wholesale, but to demand the methodology, understand what is and is not counted (production, delivery, device), and apply the same completion-weighted lens across all channels — including TV.
What advertisers should do
First, add a completion-weighted carbon line to media RFPs. Whatever the absolute figures, forcing agencies and platforms to report emissions per second actually viewed is a healthy pressure that rewards efficient, well-targeted delivery.
Second, resist single-source carbon claims. If a channel owner supplies the metric that ranks its own channel first, cross-check against independent measurement. Sustainability in media only becomes credible when the yardstick is neutral — and demanding that neutrality is itself an advantage as green-claim scrutiny tightens.
Quick FAQ
What is the ADMTV's new carbon KPI?
Grams of CO2e per second viewed and completed, per 1,000 contacts — weighting a video campaign's footprint by reach, viewability and completion.
What did it find?
Linear TV at 12.9 gCO2e, BVOD at 17.7g and social video at 1,773.6g on the same measure, with TV-plus-BVOD cited as up to 2.7x lower.
How should buyers use it?
Adopt completion-weighted carbon reporting in RFPs, but read the methodology critically and cross-check single-source claims against independent measurement.
Weighting carbon by whether an ad was actually seen and completed is a real step forward — cruder per-impression counts flatter waste. But a metric produced by a TV body that happens to rank TV first should be read as interested, not gospel. Take the method, demand the methodology, and apply the same lens to everyone. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
Completion-weighted carbon is a genuine advance — adopt the method, but never accept a sustainability yardstick supplied by the channel it ranks first.
Does your media plan measure carbon per impression served — or per second actually watched?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: CB News, The Media Leader France, Minted.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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