There is an ever increasing variety of content that is available for streaming from a head end for output to a user. For example, a user may view traditional television programming broadcast over a network by using a client, such as a set-top box, a broadcast-enabled computer, and so on. The user, by utilizing the client, may also interact with on-demand content, such as by purchasing pay-per-view movies, ordering video-on-demand (VOD) content, recording content for later streaming from the head end when configured as a network digital video recorder (NDVR), and so on.
A VOD system, for instance, may stream content stored at the head end to the set-top box of the user. The VOD system may be utilized to provide a wide variety of content, such as movies, content available for purchase (e.g., subscription-based content, pay-per-use content, and so forth), television programs, sporting events, and so on. The user may initiate one or more trick modes by interacting with the set-top box, such as to pause, fast forward, rewind, and provide slow motion playback of the content. Thus, the trick modes may be  utilized to control the streaming of the content from the head end to the set-top box.
A NDVR system, like a traditional DVR, may be utilized to record content of interest to a user. In this instance, however, the head end is configured to provide DVR functionality by including memory for storing content for later streaming over a network to the user. For example, the user may utilize a set-top box to communicate with the head end to cause a particular content item (e.g., a television program) to be recorded. To watch the recorded content item, the user may utilize the set-top box to communicate with the head end to cause streaming of the content from the head end to the client. The NDVR system may also support trick modes to enable the user to pause, fast forward, rewind, and provide slow motion playback of the content recorded at the head end.
To stream content for a particular user, a session is initiated between a corresponding client and the head end. For example, a user may initiate a VOD session by ordering a movie from a VOD system for being streamed to a set-top box. During the VOD session, the VOD system streams the movie to that particular set-top box for output to the user. Likewise, a particular user may cause recordation of a content item (e.g., a television program) by using the NDVR system. To watch the recorded television program, the user initiates a NDVR session that is particular to the client such that the recorded television program is streamed to that particular client. Therefore, in both of these instances, content is  streamed for output to the particular user during a session initiated between the head end and a particular client corresponding to the particular user.
Traditional streaming of content during a session, however, is limited to a particular client that is utilized to access the content. When ordering a VOD (e.g., a movie), for instance, a session is initiated between a particular set-top box and a head end such that the movie is streamed to the particular set-top box. If the user wishes to view the movie utilizing a new client, however, a new session is initiated between the head end and the new client that is not aware of the previous session that was utilized to stream the content for output to the user. This lack of awareness may result in additional costs, such as to purchase conditional access rights to access the content utilizing the new client, in network bandwidth costs of networks utilized to stream the content, and so on. Additionally, due to the lack of awareness of the previous session between the user and the head end, even once the new session is initiated between the new client and the head end, the user is required to manually navigate through the content to continue output of the content at a corresponding point-in-time in the output of the previous session.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for redirection of streaming content.