User-generated content will be king: media guru survey

eMarketer - It's going to make someone rich. Somehow.

More than half of media and entertainment executives surveyed in Accenture's "Global Content Survey 2007" cite user-generated content as a leading threat to their bottom line.

Two-thirds of respondents believe that within three years their businesses will be making money on user-generated content. A quarter does not yet know how that will happen.

So is the glass half-full?

Respondents agreed that short-form video offers the best growth potential over the next five years.

While media and entertainment executives debate how to make money from user-generated content, user-generated online video continues to grow. Screen Digest's "User-Generated Online Video: Competitive Review and Market Outlook" reports that 55% of online video watched in 2010 will be user-generated, up from 47% in 2006.

Not all consumers are sold on the value of user-made video. According to a Synovate study commissioned by Clipblast! respondents disliked having to wade through user-generated content to get to the good stuff.

eMarketer's User-Generated Content: A New World of Online Advertising report will be published in May 2007. To be notified when it is released, click here.