A technique for managing the streaming of digital video content to multiple clients involves identifying an attribute of a content element that is streamed to a client and selecting a protection mechanism for the content element as a function of the attribute, wherein the protection mechanism enables streaming of the content element to the clients in the event of a resource failure. In an example, the identified attribute is an indication of the popularity of the content element (e.g., as measured by the number of active streams), such that the protection mechanism is selected as a function of the popularity of the content element. In an embodiment, protection mechanisms that offer a higher level of protection are selected for the more popular content elements and protection mechanisms that offer a lower level of protection are selected for the less popular content elements.