Big media sees opportunities in Web user content

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Big media is coming to grips with the revolution in consumer-created content on the Web, with executives seeing much of the amateur content creating opportunities to tie into professional media productions.

Executives, speaking at this week's Reuters Media Summit in New York, said the growing online availability of home video, personal photos and journals -- known in the industry as "user-generated content" -- is less disruptive than some suppose.

They were responding to the explosion of interest in personal media shared among online users, from quirky videos shot in bedrooms and posted on Google Inc.'s YouTube to photos on Yahoo Inc.'s Flickr or the self-expression on News Corp.'s MySpace and privately held Facebook.

"We've been doing (user-generated content) for 17 years, said Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Media Networks."You really have to look at America's Funniest Home Videos. That is the first user-generated content that was out there and was delivered to a larger audience at that point than is probably delivered today."

Some analysts worry traditional media like TV and print have been losing sway with consumers, particularly younger ones, as they increasingly look for entertainment from other consumers online. YouTube says users view more than 100 million video clips daily. MySpace has more than 130 million users.

"There's a serious activity going on here that's clearly created a new way for users to interact with video and they are spending a fair amount of time on it," said Josh Bernoff, a media analyst at Forrester.

Time Warner Inc. CEO Richard Parsons disagreed with the premise that the company's media brands like HBO, Warner Bros. and Time Inc. would lose out to users' own content.

"I really don't think Hollywood is looking to the public for content. I think the public is looking to the public for content," Parsons said. "Is it going to really cannibalize professionally produced or edited content? I don't think so."  Continued...