• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, March 21, 2012

While advertising might not be running against all of it, user-generated content and video on social networks represent the large majority of online video viewing, according to a new report from AccuStream Research titled “Internet Video 2011-2014: View, Share, Site, and User Analytics.”

In 2011 AccuStream tallied a total 431.8 billion online video views, up 43.2% from 301.5 billion views in 2010 -- a growth rate traditional broadcast and cable TV would be hard-pressed to match; while number of views and time spent watching don’t necessarily match up as measures, it’s still worth noting that according to Nielsen total TV viewing increased 1% in 2010, to 34 hours and 39 minutes, and it might grow another 1% to 35 hours in 2011.  

AccuStream also estimated the total length of time spent watching online video at 21.2 billion hours in 2011, making up 5.2% of total TV hours watched for the year.

What’s more, the two overlapping categories of UGC video and video distributed via social networks made up 77.9% of total video views, according to AccuStream, while professionally-produced and distributed video on destination sites made up just 22.1%. The report also estimates that publisher- and producer-managed partner channels on YouTube make up 21.8% of requested content in 2011. At the same time YouTube captured a 94% share of UGC viewing.

However UGC’s viewership growth rate may be moderating. AccuStream also noted that UGC views per unique user per month actually decreased 12.1% in 2011 to 80.7, following a huge 147.2% spike in 2010. Views per unique user per month on pro-managed sites increased 3.2% to 6.4.