Methods and systems for intelligent utilization of off-peak network bandwidth

A method, comprising:

• sending, to a content server, a request for a content item;
• receiving, by a user device, a first portion of the content item via a streaming connection with the content server;
• sending, to the content server at a first time, a teardown command to suspend sending of the content item, wherein the teardown command comprises a timestamp indicative of a time associated with the teardown command;
• after a determination that playback of the content item is likely to be resumed during a peak time period, receiving, during an off-peak time period when a utilization of the content server does not satisfy a threshold, a second portion of the content item at a resume point determined from the timestamp, wherein the resume point is for playback during the peak time period, and wherein the peak time period is when utilization of the content server satisfies the threshold;
• and
• storing, in a memory in communication with the user device, the second portion of the content item.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a content server from a user device, a request for a content item;
• initiating sending, to the user device, the content item;
• receiving, at a first time, a teardown command to suspend sending of the content item after a first portion of the content item has been sent to the user device, wherein the teardown command comprises a timestamp indicative of a time associated with the teardown command;
• receiving metadata related to a time the user device is likely to resume viewing the content item;
• determining, based on the received metadata, whether playback of the content item is likely to be resumed during a peak time period, wherein the peak time period is when a utilization of the content server satisfies a threshold;
• determining, based on the timestamp, a resume point of a second portion of the content item for playback during the peak time period;
• and
• determining that playback of the content item is likely to be resumed during the peak time period;
• pre-positioning, after determining that playback of the content item is likely to be resumed during the peak time period, the second portion of the content item proximate to the user device during an off-peak time period when the utilization of the content server does not satisfy the threshold.