Patent ID: 8046449

Claim:
A contents management server comprising: a network interface, connected to a plurality of networks having different network identifiers, for communicating with client terminals via said respective networks and communicating with a plurality of contents servers via said respective networks; a contents information database that indicates a correspondence among a contents identifier that identifies contents, a channel identifier that identifies a broadcast channel of the contents, an address of the contents server that stores the contents, and a network identifier that identifies a network to which said contents server is connected; a control unit that, when said network interface receives a contents sending request message from a client terminal, said contents sending request message including a contents identifier, a channel identifier, and a network identifier of the network to which the client terminal is connected, references said contents information database for determining an address of a contents server connected to the network identified by the received network identifier, generates a contents streaming request message that requests to deliver contents identified by the received contents identifier and the received channel identifier, to said client terminal, and controls said network interface so that the contents streaming request message is sent to said determined address of said contents server; and a user information database that indicates a correspondence between a network identifier of each user and a user account, a correspondence between a first user account of each user and a second user account related to the first user account, and information specifying an operation for a second client terminal belonging to a network having a second network identifier, wherein: said network interface receives the contents sending request information, which includes a contents identifier, a channel identifier, and a first user account, from a first client terminal, and said control unit references said user information database, based on the first user account included in the contents sending request message received from said network interface, for determining a second network identifier and a second user account corresponding to the first user account, references said contents information database for determining an address of a second contents server corresponding to the second network identifier, generates the contents storing request message, including the contents identifier and the channel identifier included in the contents sending request message and the second user account based on information specifying an operation for the second terminal stored in said user information database, and controls said network interface so that the contents storing request message is sent to said second contents server.