Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method comprising receiving a data stream comprising media content that includes program content and advertising content, and monitoring for presence of markers in the data stream at test points on a data path from a receiving device to a server distributing the data stream over a network. Data collected at the test points is correlated to determine whether the advertising content was presented. If the advertising content was not presented, an alarm message is generated; and a location is determined, based on the result of the correlating, of a fault on the data path causing the advertising content to not be presented. The test data are collected from the test points simultaneously with propagation of the data stream along the data path. Other embodiments are disclosed.