Abstract: A system and method for the distribution of digital media content makes use of a network control element to manage the fragmentation of the digital content and to distribute the fragments of the digital content to different endpoint elements in the network. The network control element responds to endpoint element requests for the digital media content by allowing the various endpoint elements to store the fragments of the digital media content and to transfer the fragments to the requesting endpoint element under the control of the network management element. This spreads the network traffic across the network and prevents the development of a single bottleneck in the distribution network.