Everyone knows that higher production values are worth something. Of course, the rise of popular “two kids with a camcorder” video shows that it’s not the only important factor. So the question is, how important is professional quality production, when it comes to online video?

Here’s a neat way to figure out the answer. A recent BusinessWeek article, “Web Video: Move Over, Amateurs”, quotes the CEO of Blinkx, a video search engine, saying that user generated content commands $7 CPMs — compared to $60 CPMs for professionally produced content. That’s a 750% premium!

Other interesting points from the article:

• In the next couple of years, you’ll see user-generated content drop from 60% of viewership to 10% or 15%. “People would rather watch content that has production value than watch their neighbors in the garage,” says Matt Sanchez of VideoEgg.

• ManiaTV reports that roughly 80% of its users preferred professional-grade content, so it’s cancelling all of its user-generated channels.

Filed under: video