The Walt Disney Co.'s pact with Apple to repurpose primetime programming on its new video iPod generated a mix of confusion and concern among ABC's local affiliate stations as the news spread Wednesday.

The prospect of the new device distracting Nielsen-measurable eyeballs from its own over-the-air programming is generating some anxiety from stations all over the country about how their business will be affected by the download-on-demand availability of two of the network's biggest hits, "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," albeit on a 24-hour delay from their initial network broadcasts.

"I've already heard from some people, there's lots of questions. I'm sure everyone will be watching this very carefully," said Deb McDermott, president of Young Broadcasting, which owns five ABC affiliate stations, and former chairman of the ABC Television Affiliate Assn. board of governors. "The question is making sure this doesn't impact the over-the-air business. ... I'm anxious to learn more about it and how it's going to work, and (to) focus on what it means for us," McDermott said.

ABC affiliates were not notified of the deal before Wednesday's announcement because of a nondisclosure agreement that Disney had with Apple, ABC executives said. Leon Long, general manager of WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Miss., and current head of ABC's affiliate board, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

ABC already has negotiated with affiliates to retain repurposing rights over as much as five hours of primetime programming per week. But that stipulation generally covers repurposing arrangements like offering a second window of a broadcast property on cable within a preselected range of days. It was unclear whether putting a series on an entirely different platform is covered by that agreement as well.

Some affiliates argue that iPod could in fact help over-the-air TV. For highly serialized programming like ABC's "Lost," iPod could function as a backup for people who might miss an episode, which could discourage future viewing of the series. Moreover, iPod could help drive sampling of ABC programming among younger viewers who might be more prone to try a series on a platform where they spend more time. And a fledgling new drama like "Night Stalker" will gain valuable promotion and possibly sampling by being made available alongside "Housewives" and "Lost" as part of Disney's initial batch of programs offered through Apple's iTunes music store service.

Moreover, affiliates don't believe the iPod's small screen delivers anywhere near the picture quality viewers are accustomed to with traditional over-the-air broadcasting or DVDs.

Still, other station sources noted that there is growing concern about the loss of their exclusive access to network programming at a time when major cable, satellite and Internet-driven concerns are negotiating a wide range of cutting-edge, on-demand platform deals with the major TV networks and studios. Cable giant Comcast Corp. is known to be in negotiations with Disney, NBC Universal and others about establishing video-on-demand access to primetime's biggest hits.

The Apple-Disney deal elicited mixed reactions from home video retailers, another sector that likely will be impacted by the move to on-demand program access, especially at a time when sales of contemporary TV-DVD sets have proved to be robust.

Some retailers see it as a direct affront to their business, whereas others say that the time-shifting paradigm offered by the video iPod deal is more of a threat to TiVo and other DVR-like devices than anything else.

Indie retailer Marc Oringer, who owns Champagne Video in New York, said studios are too focused on delivery and should spend more time developing better movies.

"Even something small like Disney's new brainstorm will take an effect on my bottom line," Oringer said. "But if Disney and other big studios continue putting out crap and expecting people to rent it, then I believe (people) will find alternatives to renting and therefore kill the video business."

On the other hand, the news was hardly cause for alarm at video giant Blockbuster Inc., according to company spokeswoman Karen Raskopf.

"It seems to me that a customer who is interested in downloads of TV programming on an iPod the day after it airs is a different customer than the one buying or renting a season of TV programming after that season has ended," Raskopf said. "The first customer is interested in catching up on an episode at a time that is convenient for them before the next one airs. That is not the customer renting (or) buying TV programming from Blockbuster. The customers who get this type of product from us are customers who, for the most part, want the convenience of being able to watch a season's worth of a program all at one time or in huge blocks."

Cynthia Littleton contributed to this report.