TARGETED DELIVERY OF MEDIA-PROMOTED CONTENT TO SELECTED NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDERS IN A CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK

摘要

A content delivery network service provider (CDNSP) (310) operates a content delivery network (CDN). At least one network service provider (NSP) (304) has an access network to which end users connect to obtain Internet access. The access network is provided with a set of one or more CDN edge servers to create a CDN-enabled access network (307). A given media entity (302) identifies given content and makes that content available for delivery over the Internet. Typically, the given content is identified by a URL, and the content preferably is available from a given CDN edge server or, alternatively, from a persistent storage managed by the CDNSP. To obtain the content, an end user navigates, for example, to the media entity's Web site and points his or her browser software to the URL identifying the content. According to the invention, the given content is associated exclusively with the CDN-enabled access network so that only end users who access the Internet through the CDN-enabled access network can obtain the content. This exclusive association between the given content and the CDN-enabled access network is enforced through one or more control mechanisms operated by the CDNSP.