Apparatus and methods for managing delivery of content in a network with limited bandwidth using pre-caching

A non-transitory computer-readable apparatus comprising a storage medium having at least one computer program stored thereon, the at least one computer program comprising a plurality of instructions configured to, when executed by a digital processor apparatus, cause a networked apparatus to:

• based on a determination that at least a partial match exists between (i) data associated with digitally rendered content and (ii) data related to a user associated with a content delivery network, generate prediction data relating to a likelihood of interest by the user for the digitally rendered content;
• based on the prediction data, identify the digitally rendered content as high probability of viewership (HpoV) content;
• and
• cause transmission, during an expected period of low network demand, of at least a portion of the HpoV content to one or more computerized client devices associated with at least the user;
• wherein the transmission to the one or more computerized client devices comprises a transmission of the at least portion of the HpoV content at a data transfer rate that is less than that associated with a real-time presentation of the at least portion of the HpoV content outside of the expected period of low network demand.

A network apparatus operable within a digital content delivery network, the apparatus comprising:

• a network interface configured to communicate digital data via the digital content delivery network;
• a storage apparatus comprising at least one computer program, the at least one computer program comprising a plurality of computer-readable instructions;
• and
• a digital processor apparatus in data communication with the storage apparatus and configured to execute the plurality of computer-readable instructions, the plurality of computer-readable instructions being configured to cause the apparatus to, when executed, cause the network apparatus to:
• (i) identify digital content, and (ii) access data related to the identified digital content;
• evaluate the data related to the identified digital content with respect to one or more criteria to determine whether at least a partial match exists between the identified digital content and behavioral data associated with a user of the digital content delivery network;
• and
• based on a determination that at least the partial match exists between the identified digital content and the behavioral data, schedule transmission of the identified digital content via the network interface to one or more client devices associated with the user during a period where network demand is expected or predicted to fall below a prescribed threshold;
• wherein the scheduled transmission correlates to a lower transmission rate than that correlated to a real-time presentation of the digital content.