In this paper we investigate which characteristics reliable multicast services should have in order to be appropriate for use by distributed interactive media applications such as shared whiteboards, networked computer games, or distributed virtual environments. We take a close look at the communication requirements of these applications and at existing approaches to realize reliable multicast. Based on this information we deduce which reliable multicast transport protocols am appropriate for the different aspects of distributed interactive media. Furthermore we discuss how the application programming interface of a reliable multicast service should be designed in order to support the development of applications for distributed interactive media.