• Financial Times , Thursday, April 13, 2006 11:30 AM

The Financial Times spoke with analysts and online executives who claim the Internet is ill-suited for the free, ad-supported online TV services Disney announced this week. Should Disney attract a large audience, other media companies would likely adopt similar strategies, shoring bandwidth and placing the strain squarely on the shoulders of big computer systems and network providers. This could force a new round of spending on a sector that's already strapped for cash. While the Internet is capable of handling downloads from services like iTunes and BitTorrent, analysts note that streaming video is an entirely different process for networks and computer grids to execute. The bulky process of delivering bits of data between two distant computers results in the short, low-quality streams users are accustomed to on the Web. A degradation in quality is equally likely for Disney's streamcasts, and while consumers may be willing to put up with that for a while, experts say expectations are certain to rise. Even so, they add that the technological demands of millions of viewers requesting streams could prove to be too great for existing infrastructure.

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