Systems and methods for multicast delivery of a managed bundle in service provider networks

1. A method of distributing content by a network operator, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of media streams, each media stream including a plurality of linear programs containing only adaptive bitrate video having a prescribed duration;

assigning a traffic index for each of the programs contained within each of the media streams, each traffic index reflecting the volume of traffic expected to be associated with the program by a client device;

selecting a predetermined number of the programs to provide to the client device dynamically as the programs are received;

statistically multiplexing the selected programs into a managed bundle based at least in part on the traffic index for each of the programs, the traffic index based at least in part on the popularity of each of the programs;

encoding said selected programs as individual adaptive bitrate streams; and

streaming said encoded individual adaptive bitrate streams to client device over the network in IP as the managed bundle, wherein the adaptive bitrate streams in the bundle are multicast simultaneously to the client device with a substantially constant bitrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein encoding said selected programs as individual adaptive bitrate streams comprises encoding each program in a corresponding adaptive bitrate stream and providing the collection of corresponding adaptive bitrate streams as bundle of streams, each stream in the bundle having a particular time assignment.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

allocating bandwidth to the adaptive bitrate streams based on the collection of streams in the bundle.

4. The method of claim 3 ,

wherein each of the adaptive bitrate streams is variable bitrate (VBR) encoded, and

wherein uniform quality is delivered within each of the programs in the bundle by controlling the VBR encoding of each adaptive bitrate stream.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein each program comprises a plurality of segments having a prescribed duration.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein in encoding said selected programs as individual adaptive bitrate streams, each selected program comprises a plurality of profiles having different bitrates and/or resolutions.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of profiles for each selected program are provided together in the individual adaptive bitrate stream for said program.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of profiles for each selected program are provided separately in individual adaptive bitrate streams.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of different bitrate comprises approximately 3 to 15 constant bitrates.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of resolutions comprises a resolution range of approximately common intermediate format (CIF) to 1080P.

11. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the traffic index is calculated by metrics obtained by or provided to a service provider,

wherein the metrics are selected from the group consisting of: Nielsen ratings of prior showings of a program or series, number of viewers in a region for previous showings or episodes of a program, number of viewers that watched a channel the night before or the week before, anticipated number of viewers based on viewer feedback, social media discussion popularity.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing the encoded individual adaptive bitrate streams.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

providing a stored encoded individual adaptive bitrate stream to a client device upon request.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the encoded individual adaptive bitrate stream comprises a plurality of profiles for a program.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the client device's request comprises a start over or look back recorded service.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of programs comprise one or more of television shows, movies, sports programs, television channels, news and special events.