Methods and systems for presenting media listings based on quality of service at a user device

1. A method of selecting providers of media content, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server, a request from a user device, over a communications network, to access media assets from a cloud-based aggregator, wherein the media assets are available from a plurality of over-the-top content providers;

retrieving, at the server, subscription data for a user of the user device, wherein the subscription data indicates that the user subscribes to each of the plurality of over-the-top content providers;

searching, by the server, based on the subscription data, a first content provider of the plurality of over-the-top content providers to determine that the first content provider provides a media asset;

searching, by the server, based on the subscription data, a second content provider of the plurality of over-the-top content providers to determine that the second content provider provides the media asset;

determining, at the server, a first quality of service of a first communication path for the user device to receive the media asset from the first content provider;

determining, at the server, a second quality of service of a second communication path for the user device to receive the media asset from the second content provider;

comparing, at the server, the first quality of service to the second quality of service, wherein each of the first quality of service and the second quality of service are based on a respective quality of service characteristic determined by the user device, and wherein the respective quality of service characteristics comprise error rate, throughput lag, transmission delay, or jitter;

determining, at the server, that the first quality of service is greater than the second quality of service based on the comparison;

in response to determining that the first quality of service is greater than the second quality of service, selecting for inclusion in a list of media asset listings a media asset listing for the media asset from the first content provider and excluding from the list of media asset listings a media asset listing for the media asset from the second content provider; and

generating for display the list of the media asset listings.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first quality of service comprises:

determining a first quality of service characteristic and a second quality of service characteristic;

assigning a first weight to the first quality of service characteristic and a second weight to the second quality of service characteristic; and

determining a weighted average for the first quality of service characteristic and the second quality of service characteristic.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first quality of service comprises:

querying the user device for a checksum value; and

receiving the checksum value from the user device in response to the query.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

inputting the first quality of service into a database listing ratings corresponding to different quality of services;

comparing the first quality of service to the different quality of services to determine a rating for the first quality of service; and

generating for display the rating simultaneously with the media asset listing.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a notification for accessing the media asset from the second content provider, wherein the notification indicates that the second quality of service is lower than the first quality of service.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the first quality of service is equal to the second quality of service based on the comparison, generating for display the media asset listing for the media asset from the first content provider and a different media asset listing for the media asset from the second content provider.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

retrieving a threshold quality of service;

comparing the first quality of service to the threshold quality of service; and

in response to determining that the first quality of service does not equal or exceed the threshold quality of service, generating for display an option to receive an alert when the first quality of service equals or exceeds the threshold quality of service.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

retrieving a threshold quality of service;

comparing the first quality of service to the threshold quality of service; and

in response to determining that the first quality of service does not equal or exceed the threshold quality of service, generating for display an option to automatically download the first media asset to the server when the first quality of service equals or exceeds the threshold quality of service, wherein the downloaded first media asset is available for on-demand playback on the user device.

9. A system for selecting providers of media content, the system comprising a server in communication with a user device, wherein the server includes control circuitry configured to:

receive a request from the user device, over a communications network, to access media assets from a cloud-based aggregator, wherein the media assets are available from a plurality of over-the-top content providers;

retrieve subscription data for a user of the user device, wherein the subscription data indicates that the user subscribes to each of the plurality of over-the-top content providers;

search, based on the subscription data, a first content provider of the plurality of over-the-top content providers to determine that the first content provider provides a media asset;

search, based on the subscription data, a second content provider of the plurality of over-the-top content providers to determine that the second content provider provides the media asset;

determine a first quality of service of a first communication path for the user device to receive the media asset from the first content provider;

determine a second quality of service of a second communication path for the user device to receive the media asset from the second content provider;

compare the first quality of service to the second quality of service wherein each of the first quality of service and the second quality of service are based on a respective quality of service characteristic determined by the user device, and wherein the respective quality of service characteristics comprise error rate, throughput lag, transmission delay, or jitter;

determine that the first quality of service is greater than the second quality of service based on the comparison;

in response to determining that the first quality of service is greater than the second quality of service, select for inclusion in a list of media asset listings a media asset listing for the media asset from the first content provider and excluding from the list of media asset listings a media asset listing for the media asset from the second content provider; and

generate for display the list of the media asset listings.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry configured to determine the first quality of service is further configured to:

determine a first quality of service characteristic and a second quality of service characteristic;

assign a first weight to the first quality of service characteristic and a second weight to the second quality of service characteristic; and

determine a weighted average for the first quality of service characteristic and the second quality of service characteristic.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry configured to determine the first quality of service further is further configured to:

query the user device for a checksum value; and

receive the checksum value from the user device in response to the query.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

input the first quality of service into a database listing ratings corresponding to different quality of services;

compare the first quality of service to the different quality of services to determine a rating for the first quality of service; and

generate for display the rating simultaneously with the media asset listing.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to generate a notification for accessing the media asset from the second content provider, wherein the notification indicates that the second quality of service is lower than the first quality of service.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to, in response to determining that the first quality of service is equal to the second quality of service based on the comparison, generate for display the media asset listing for the media asset from the first content provider and a different media asset listing for the media asset from the second content provider.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

retrieve a threshold quality of service;

compare the first quality of service to the threshold quality of service; and

in response to determining that the first quality of service does not equal or exceed the threshold quality of service, generate for display an option to receive an alert when the first quality of service equals or exceeds the threshold quality of service.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

retrieve a threshold quality of service;

compare the first quality of service to the threshold quality of service; and

in response to determining that the first quality of service does not equal or exceed the threshold quality of service, generate for display an option to automatically download the first media asset to the server when the first quality of service equals or exceeds the threshold quality of service, wherein the downloaded first media asset is available for on-demand playback on the user device.