FAST CHANNEL CHANGE FOR A SET TOP BOX BASED ON CHANNEL VIEWING BEHAVIORS

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method comprising obtaining channel change data for a media processor coupled to a gateway; the channel change data relates to channel changes requested during recurring time periods. A channel viewing profile is determined for the media processor, and a channel viewing map is generated corresponding to a portion of the channel viewing profile for one of the time periods; the channel viewing map comprises a list of predicted channels likely to be requested during a recurrence of the time period. Signals are provided to the media processor corresponding to the predicted channels, each of the predicted channels thereby being available for an instant channel change responsive to a channel change request. Other embodiments are disclosed.