A system and method for distributing streaming content data from a server to multiple clients enables the server to handle transient surges of requests by having the clients cooperate with the server and other clients to distribute content, thereby alleviating the load on the server. The server divides the streaming content into multiple sub-streams (e.g., by using multiple description coding), and constructs multiple distribution trees with itself at the root and each client as a node in each of the trees. Each sub-stream is transmitted down a corresponding one of the distribution trees. Clients that receive sub-streams from its parent nodes in the distribution trees in turn forward the sub-streams to their child nodes in the trees.