Jackson memorial expected to tax the net

LOS ANGELES, July 7 (UPI) -- Media began covering the memorial for U.S. pop singer Michael Jackson at sunrise Tuesday as millions of fans worldwide said goodbye to the celebrity.

Major broadcast networks, cable news and music channels planned to air the star-studded memorial service for the 50-year-old Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, beginning at 1 p.m. Pacific time, and expected to last at least 90 minutes, The Washington Post reported.

CNN began its pre-memorial coverage at 6 a.m. Eastern time, with other news networks beginning shortly after that.

Fox News Network reported 1,400 police officers were assigned to memorial service, to which 17,500 tickets were issued randomly to fans.

As the media prepared for live coverage on television and online, analysts told The Times of London worldwide interest in the remembrance of the King of Pop will lead to a surge in Internet use, possibly crashing some servers.

Adam Ostrow, editor of Mashable, an online social media guide based in San Francisco, said he expected the service to be "the biggest event we've ever seen online," testing the infrastructures of the Internet and the Web sites broadcasting the service.

"It could just be the biggest thing ever in the history of the Internet," Ostrow told The Times. "The memorial service is happening during normal hours in the U.S. when people will be at work, which means people aren't going to be in front of a TV. They are going to be at their computers and turning to the Internet to watch the event."

Los Angeles authorities, meanwhile, prepared for a five-day engagement of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Staples Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reported. The circus tradition of marching elephants through the city was expected to begin mid-afternoon.