This counts the IPv4 packets that higher-level protocols asked to be transmitted out this interface and that were addressed to a multicast address, including ones that were ultimately discarded or never sent. It gives an admin visibility into outbound multicast fan-out per interface, distinct from the delivered-multicast counter, which is useful for confirming a multicast source or replicator is actually pushing traffic onto the wire. If this counter stays flat while a multicast video stream is supposed to be active, that points to a source-side or forwarding problem rather than a receiver issue.