TABLE OF CONTENTS Broadcast quality is as different from Internet quality as a spotlight is from a flashlight: Both do the same thing, but to radically different degrees and for widely different purposes. Broadcast quality has matured over the past 50 years to become almost as reliable as a light switch. It is assumed by any user of a television or radio that, if the signal quality is poor, it is most probably the receiver or the cable provider that is at fault. Rarely does a consumer consider calling NBC if The Nightly News with Tom Brokaw is fuzzy or cuts out mid-broadcast. Instead, the television is smacked, and the cable operator s customer service lines are flooded with complaints.
On the Internet, quality responsibility is a complex mix for most consumers. The service provider is certainly the first stop, as in the television model. But what if one site works and another doesn t? The blame for poor quality quickly devolves to the site owner. If CNN.com is available and NBC.com is not, then NBC is blamed.
Quality variations as users move from page to page within a site certainly cause consternation and a wounded brand. With entertainment and media, quality is paramount. Major studios will not actively use Internet distribution until the experience for the consumer is on par with other media. Poor performance can hurt a valuable brand that has been built over time.
Corporate digital media also has quality concerns, but...
