Bear Stearns has just published an interesting report on the long tail of media that addresses the world of user-generated-content and its effect on the traditional media markets, especially TV and film. It answers the following three questions:

1. How much demand is there for user-generated content (UGC)?
2. Can UGC actually be monetized?
3. Won’t “content always remain king”?

Their "long tail" thesis says that, "digital technology and economics are loosening barriers to entry in video production." The resultant increase in video content from many diverse sources is shifting value from content creators to aggregators and packagers of content.

Definitely worth a read!

Update: Business 2.0 comments on the escalating UGC aggregator / packager war.