A method for conditional performing media delivery index measurements on streaming media comprising: Identifying, within a network, a media stream under consideration for a conditional media delivery index by inspecting one or more packets of the media stream for characteristics and/or attributes of the media stream; Identifying, for the media stream, an expected packet rate at which the media stream is expected to pass through at least a portion of the network based at least in part on characteristics and/or attributes of the media stream; Determining, for the media stream, an actual packet rate at which the media stream actually passes through the portion of the network; characterized in: Calculating, based at least in part on the expected packet rate and the actual packet rate, a media rate variation that represents a reference for determining whether to perform the conditional media delivery index on the media stream; determining whether the media rate variation meets a certain threshold; and incrementing, in response to determining that the media rate variation meets the certain threshold, a counter that tracks a number of continuous intervals during which the certain threshold has been met; determining whether the counter meets an additional threshold; and activating the conditional media delivery index for the media stream in response to determining that the counter meets the additional threshold. Identifying, within a network, a media stream under consideration for a conditional media delivery index by inspecting one or more packets of the media stream for characteristics and/or attributes of the media stream; Identifying, for the media stream, an expected packet rate at which the media stream is expected to pass through at least a portion of the network based at least in part on characteristics and/or attributes of the media stream; Determining, for the media stream, an actual packet rate at which the media stream actually passes through the portion of the network; characterized in: Calculating, based at least in part on the expected packet rate and the actual packet rate, a media rate variation that represents a reference for determining whether to perform the conditional media delivery index on the media stream; determining whether the media rate variation meets a certain threshold; and incrementing, in response to determining that the media rate variation meets the certain threshold, a counter that tracks a number of continuous intervals during which the certain threshold has been met; determining whether the counter meets an additional threshold; and activating the conditional media delivery index for the media stream in response to determining that the counter meets the additional threshold. Calculating, based at least in part on the expected packet rate and the actual packet rate, a media rate variation that represents a reference for determining whether to perform the conditional media delivery index on the media stream; determining whether the media rate variation meets a certain threshold; and incrementing, in response to determining that the media rate variation meets the certain threshold, a counter that tracks a number of continuous intervals during which the certain threshold has been met; determining whether the counter meets an additional threshold; and activating the conditional media delivery index for the media stream in response to determining that the counter meets the additional threshold.