No results found. Ask us directly:

How do advanced distribution rules work for external groups?

Last updated: June 20th 2026 · Status: Not Validated · Article ID: 3850015

💻 Environment/Context

  • External Distribution
  • External Group
  • Access
  • Rules
  • Feature Flag

 

In order for you to edit external group rules, the External Groups > Can view and External Groups > Can edit permissions must be enabled on your account.

If you're unable to follow any of the steps below, kindly reach out to your admin or refer to the Account Type Permissions Overview article for more information.

 

 

 

❓ Issue/Question

  • How do I create advanced external distribution rules for my external groups?
  • What are external distribution rules in external groups?
  • How do external distribution rules work?
     

👌 Resolution/Answer

  • Advanced distribution rules let you decide exactly what content an external group can see. Every media asset on the platform gets checked against your rules; if it passes, it's visible to the group. If it doesn't, it stays hidden.
    • This feature needs the distributionRules flag enabled for the platform. 
    • If the group has anything in the Access tab and also has Rules configured, both apply together, which can cause them to interfere. 
      • Its recommended to clear the Access tab before building rules.
      • When creating a new sponsor or group, access may come pre-filled. Clear it first.
         
  • Rules can be thought of as a logical filter applied to each media asset. Each asset must pass all defined conditions to be visible. The evaluation is based on three core logical operators:
    • AND → all conditions must be met
    • OR → at least one condition must be met
    • NOT → excludes content that matches the condition
    • These operators can be combined to create more complex rule structures.

 

  • AND → is used when multiple conditions must all be true for the asset to pass. For example: Tag = Brazil AND Tag = photo → only assets tagged both Brazil and photo will pass.

  • OR → is used when an asset only needs to match one of several conditions. For Example: Tag = Brazil OR Tag = photo → a media asset with Brazil, or photo, or both will pass.

  • NOT → Use it to exclude content. NOT can only contain one thing, either one single condition, or one nested group (AND/OR). Never add multiple separate conditions directly under a NOT. For Example: 
    Example A: NOT(Tag = Brazil) → every asset except those tagged Brazil.

Example B: NOT( AND(Tag = Brazil, Tag = photo) ) → excludes only assets that are both Brazil and photo. Assets that are just Brazil, or just photo, are still visible.

  • Comparators are how values are matched. Each condition uses one of these:
    = (Equals) → exact match required. For Example: Tag = Spain → passes only if the asset has the tag "Spain".
    != (Not equals) →  excludes a value. Example: Tag != internal → passes for everything except assets tagged "internal".
    • Contains is not recommended, as it does not work reliably and should be avoided.
       
  • Each rule condition evaluates a specific type of metadata associated with a media asset. When creating external distribution rules, you can control access by filtering on tags, collections, players, or sponsors.
    • Tags → recommended approach due to flexibility and scalability.
    • Collections → limited use; does not include sub-collections.
    • Players → used to control access based on specific players.
    • Sponsors → used to control access based on sponsor attribution.

 

🔖 Notes