Abstract: A method for distributing video content across a network, the method comprising: providing video data to a primary data source, associating control data with the video data, broadcasting the video data with associated control data from the primary data source to one or more user devices across the network, providing a media player on the respective user devices which is operable in response to reading the control data to create auxiliary data locally on the respective user devices while the media player is playing the video data, creating the auxiliary data locally on the respective user devices while the media player is playing the video data locally on the respective user devices. The control data defines one or more elements of the auxiliary data to be created by the media player including the elements of the auxiliary data which are to be retrieved from the primary data source and one or more secondary data sources.