AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Amateur Hour Is Over - BusinessWeek

Forget user-generated videos. Advertisers want to see some slick glitz and tinsel

Note to aspiring Net cineastes hoping to ride those rough cuts to Hollywood fame: It’s suddenly getting a lot tougher out there.

Online video sites that have showcased such fare as skateboarding dogs and personal rants are scaling back their focus on user- generated clips. What they want now is professionally produced programming. “People would rather watch content that has production value than watch their neighbors in the garage,” says Matt Sanchez, co-founder and CEO of VideoEgg, a company that provides advertising for Web videos.

On Nov. 13, Bebo, one of the big social networking sites that hosts videos, opened its pages to top media companies. Bebo President Joanna Shields says the goal is to better entertain and engage Web users. “As more and more interesting content from major media brands becomes available, [online viewers] are going to share that more and more because those are the brands they identify with.”

Bebo’s open invitation comes fast on the heels of the decision that another video site, maniaTV, made in October to cancel its 3,000 channels of user-generated videos. Executives cited a lack of eyeballs for the populist productions. Roughly 80% of maniaTV’s viewers were flocking to professional content produced by celebs such as musician Dave Navarro and comedian Tom Green. “We don’t need the classic user-generated talent when we have Hollywood talent that wants to work with us,” says maniaTV CEO Peter Hoskins. In July another video site, Sony’s Grouper, re-launched as Crackle, sans user home videos. In its place are professionally produced series and videos from independent filmmakers hoping to score a Hollywood contract.

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