A system for distribution of a content item in a network, particularly a peer-to-peer network. A requesting node sends a request for the content item. An access requirement value for the content item is compared to a counter value for the requesting node to determine if the requesting node may download the content item from a sharing node. The counter value is advantageously linked to the requesting node's habit of sharing content items. The access requirement value, which preferably is not only linked to the size of the content item, is modified for at least one content item in the network, either following a time rule or when the content is downloaded. In this way it can be ensured that initial downloaders are likely to share the content item and that the content then gets more accessible to other nodes.