Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a processing system of a communication node routing data packets for a first streaming session between a viewer node of a plurality of viewer nodes and a content streaming server through the communication node without interrupting delivery of content data to the viewer node, establishing a second streaming session with the content streaming server to receive the content data, creating a first and second replacement connections by imitating a connections with the content streaming server and the viewer node, receiving a control packet over the second streaming session from the content streaming server, and splitting the first streaming session responsive to receiving the control packet. Other embodiments are disclosed.