Independent creators hoping to make a buck off their videos have one less outlet to do so. Metacafe announced yesterday that it will terminate its Producer Rewards Program June 30.

In a corporate blog post, Metacafe said:

While we have worked to maintain the Producer Rewards program during the past year, we are now faced with a market environment that requires us to focus on profitability in the near term and are not in the position to continue to subsidize the program.

The move to halt payment for UGC isn’t surprising. In October of last year, the site chopped producer payments by more than half to just $2 for every 1,000 views that came from within the United States.

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TiVo to Launch Local Commercial Ratings; will provide second-by-second data for programs and ads, service will roll out in as many as 10 markets, depending on client demand. (MediaWeek)

Susan Boyle: Approaching 100 Million Views in Total; Visible Measures reports that there are 650 video placements of the British singing sensation online including the original performance, interviews, fan responses and more. (emailed release)

MySpace and FOX News Launch UReport; new section on the social network will give users the chance to share citizen journalism. (MySpace)

Metacafe Redesign Goes Pro; following YouTube, the video site create hubs around movie trailers, music videos and sports highlights. (paidContent)

Accenture Study: Consumers Willing to Pay for Programming; global survey found that 49 percent of respondents were willing to pony up for digital-service programming, and an unlimited subscription model was preferable to pay per episode. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Open Box Introduces SesameVault 2.0; platform allows businesses to publish video across web and mobile browsers. (release)

Don Henley in a Tiff Over Republican Candidate’s YouTube Vids; the Eagle filed a lawsuit over Senate candidate Charles DeVore’s use of “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” in campaign videos. (CNET)

Video sharing site Metacafe is partnering with Microcinema to launch the MetaFest online-offline film festival. Interested filmmakers can submit their works (ten minutes or less) through Metacafe between now and September 10, 2008.

The grand prize winner will receive $5,000 cash, and there will be a $2,000 cash prize for the “short-short” winner with the best film three minutes or less. Select films will be featured online at Metacafe for six months as well as be a part of the live, offline component with theatrical screenings in San Francisco as well as 60 to 80 other locations across the U.S. and Europe.

Online TV service Babelgum recently concluded its online film fest and announced its winners at Cannes.

User-generated advertising contests are a dime a dozen these day, but this one caught our eye for having an especially pricey grand prize: $100,000 and a private consultation with the online video gods of The Lonely Island and Saturday Night Live (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone). The requirements? Make a silly 15-90 second video about what you’d do for a Klondike Bar.

The contest is being put on by Klondike, and has a final deadline of July 31. Yadda yadda you waive all your rights if you enter. They’re also giving away $25,000 for watching and rating videos. Basically, these people are throwing cash around — might be worth a look.

The Lonely Island guys — who are also helping judge the contest — created a example to get you inspired:

The Phone Call – More amazing videos are a click away

NTV Moneymaker is an irregular feature in which we showcase a way to make a living with your video skills.

The Metacafe founders, who were no longer involved in day-to-day operations of the company, have reportedly cashed out their shares in the company, each taking home a $2.5 million payday. This information comes from the Israeli paper TheMarker, as written up by TechCrunch.

Co-founders Arik Czerniak and Ofer Adler each reportedly held a fully vested 2.5 percent of Metacafe, which was valued at $50 million for the purposes of the transaction. They are no longer involved with the company.

Even at the time, in December of 2006, it seemed like a rumored tentative offer from Yahoo (we had heard anywhere from $200 to $700 million) was the best Metacafe was going to get. But the company held out, and acquisition talks fell apart.

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