Systems and methods for adaptive storage and scheduling of media assets

1. A method for adaptively retrieving and storing media assets relating to a participant of interest in an event in response to a user request received during the event, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first time, a first user command indicating a participant of interest in an event, wherein the event includes a plurality of instances transmitted as a plurality of scheduled media assets;

identifying, from the plurality of scheduled media assets, a first scheduled media asset involving the participant of interest that is scheduled for transmission at a second time later than the first time;

scheduling the first scheduled media asset for recording at the second time;

searching, a remote server, for a first set of previously stored media assets that involve the participant of interest and that correspond to a set of the plurality of instances that were transmitted as a set of the plurality of scheduled media assets before the first time;

retrieving outcomes for the set of the plurality of instances;

determining, based on the retrieved outcomes, a second set of previously stored media assets from the first set of previously stored media assets, each previously stored media asset in the second set corresponds to a given one of the plurality of instances associated with an outcome that corresponds to a threshold;

downloading, at the first time, from the remote server to a local storage device at a user device, the second set of previously stored media assets;

arranging the recorded first scheduled media asset and the downloaded second set of previously stored media assets based on a respective transmission time corresponding to each respective media asset;

generating, for display, the arranged media assets in a sequence;

retrieving, at a third time later than the first time and before the second time, updated outcomes for instances that occurred after the first time and before the second time;

determining whether the participant of interest remains in the event at the third time based on the updated outcomes and a set of event evolvement rules; and

updating a recording schedule depending on whether the participant of interest remains in the event at the third time.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to receiving the first user command, extracting a descriptor from the user command indicating the participant of interest;

determining whether the descriptor identifies a name for the participant of interest; and

in response to determining that the descriptor does not identify the name for the participant of interest, transmitting a query based on the descriptor to a database storing data relating to the event; and

in response to the query, obtaining an identifier for the participant of interest.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying, from the plurality of scheduled media assets, a first scheduled media asset involving the participant of interest that is scheduled for transmission at a second time later than the first time comprises:

determining a type of the event;

retrieving the set of event evolvement rules based on the type of the event, wherein the set of event evolvement rules indicate progression from a first instance to a second instance from the plurality of instances based on an outcome of the first instance during the event;

determining, from the event schedule, whether the participant of interest remains in the event at the first time based on the outcomes for the set of the plurality of instances and the set of event evolvement rules; and

in response to determining that the participant of interest remains in the event at the first time:

identifying the first scheduled media asset that involves the participant of interest and is scheduled to be transmitted at the second time later than the first time.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the participant of interest no longer remains in the event at the first time, determining, from the event schedule, a second scheduled media asset from the plurality of scheduled media assets and a percentage of users who are recording one or more scheduled media assets and has chosen to record the second scheduled media asset;

determining whether the percentage exceeds a popularity threshold; and

in response to determining that the percentage exceeds the popularity threshold, scheduling for recording the second scheduled media asset when the second scheduled media asset is scheduled to be transmitted.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

recording the second scheduled media asset based on the scheduling;

determining that a period of time has lapsed after the second scheduled media asset has been stored;

determining whether a stored copy of the second scheduled media asset has not been selected by the user;

in response to determining that the stored copy of the second scheduled media asset has not been selected by the user for the period of time, deleting the stored copy of the second scheduled media asset from the local storage at the user equipment; and

generating, for display, a visual element corresponding to the second scheduled media asset and indicating that the second scheduled media asset has been deleted from the local storage at the user equipment.

6. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining that a scheduled start time of the first scheduled media asset is prior to the first time and a scheduled end time of the first scheduled media asset is later than the first time;

partially recording the first scheduled media asset from the first time;

transmitting a query to the remote server for a stored copy of the first scheduled media asset stored by other users; and

in response to determining that the stored copy of the first scheduled media asset is available at the remote server:

downloading, from the remote server to the local storage device at the user equipment, the stored copy of the first scheduled media asset; and

deleting the partially stored first scheduled media asset.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the downloading, at the first time, from the remote server to a local storage device at a user device, the second set of previously stored media assets, comprises:

downloading, from the remote server to the local storage device of the user equipment, a first previously stored media asset from the second set of previously stored media assets;

determining whether an amount of the first previously stored media asset that the user has viewed exceeds a threshold amount of the first media asset;

in response to determining that the amount of the first previously stored media asset that the user has viewed exceeds the threshold amount of the first media asset, determining one or more previously stored media assets from the second set of previously stored media assets, wherein the one or more previously stored media assets were stored subsequent to the first stored media asset; and

downloading, from the remote server and at the local storage device of user equipment, the one or more stored media assets.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving a second user command to skip or fast forward the first previously stored media asset;

determining, from the second set of stored media assets, whether there is a second previously stored media asset that has not been downloaded;

in response to determining that there is a second previously stored media asset that has not been downloaded, starting downloading the one or more previously stored media assets; and

in response to determining that there is no other previously stored media asset that has not been downloaded from the second set of previously stored media assets, generating, for display, a stored copy of the first scheduled media asset.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, from a data source, that a first period of time has lapsed since the event is finished;

determining whether any media asset from the arranged stored first set of scheduled media assets and the second set of previously stored media assets has been played during a past second period of time;

in response to determining that no media asset from the arranged stored first set of scheduled media assets and the second set of previously stored media assets has been played during the past second period of time, deleting, in a batch, all media assets that belong to the arranged stored first set of scheduled media assets and the second set of previously stored media assets from the local storage device at the user equipment; and

generating, for display, a visual element corresponding to the event and indicating that the event has been deleted from the local storage device at the user equipment.

10. A system for adaptively retrieving and storing media assets relating to a participant of interest in an event in response to a user request received during the event, the system comprising:

communication circuitry;

input/output (I/O) interface circuitry; and

control circuitry configured to:

receive, at a first time, a first user command indicating a participant of interest in an event,

wherein the event includes a plurality of instances transmitted as a plurality of scheduled media assets;

identify, from the plurality of scheduled media assets, a first scheduled media asset involving the participant of interest that is scheduled for transmission at a second time later than the first time;

schedule the first scheduled media asset for recording at the second time;

search, a remote server, for a first set of previously stored media assets that involve the participant of interest and that correspond to a set of the plurality of instances that were transmitted as a set of the plurality of scheduled media assets before the first time;

retrieve outcomes for the set of the plurality of instances;

determine, based on the retrieved outcomes, a second set of previously stored media assets from the first set of previously stored media assets, each previously stored media asset in the second set corresponds to a given one of the plurality of instances associated with an outcome that corresponds to a threshold;

download, at the first time, from the remote server to a local storage device at a user device, the second set of previously stored media assets;

arrange the recorded first scheduled media asset and the downloaded second set of previously stored media assets based on a respective transmission time corresponding to each respective media asset;

generate, for display, the arranged media assets in a sequence;

retrieve, at a third time later than the first time and before the second time, updated outcomes for instances that occurred after the first time and before the second time;

determine whether the participant of interest remains in the event at the third time based on the updated outcomes and the set of event evolvement rules; and

update a recording schedule depending on whether the participant of interest remains in the event at the third time.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

in response to receiving the first user command, extract a descriptor from the user command indicating the participant of interest;

determine whether the descriptor identifies a name for the participant of interest; and

in response to determining that the descriptor does not identify the name for the participant of interest, transmit a query based on the descriptor to a database storing data relating to the event; and

in response to the query, obtain an identifier for the participant of interest.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry, when identifying, from the plurality of scheduled media assets, a first scheduled media asset involving the participant of interest that is scheduled for transmission at a second time later than the first time, is further configured to:

determine a type of the event;

retrieve the set of event evolvement rules based on the type of the event, wherein the set of event evolvement rules indicate progression from a first instance to a second instance based on an outcome of the first instance during the event;

determine, from the event schedule, whether the participant of interest remains in the event at the first time based on the outcomes for the set of the plurality of instances and the set of event evolvement rules; and

in response to determining that the participant of interest remains in the event at the first time:

identify the first scheduled media asset that involves the participant of interest and is scheduled to be transmitted at the second time later than the first time.

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

in response to determining that the participant of interest no longer remains in the event at the first time, determine, from the event schedule, a second scheduled media asset from the plurality of scheduled media assets and a percentage of users who are recording one or more scheduled media assets and has chosen to record the second scheduled media asset;

determine whether the percentage exceeds a popularity threshold; and

in response to determining that the percentage exceeds the popularity threshold, schedule for recording the second scheduled media asset when the second scheduled media asset is scheduled to be transmitted.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

record the second scheduled media asset based on the scheduling;

determine that a period of time has lapsed after the second scheduled media asset has been stored;

determine whether a stored copy of the second scheduled media asset has not been selected by the user;

in response to determining that the stored copy of the second scheduled media asset has not been selected by the user for the period of time, delete the stored copy of the second scheduled media asset from the local storage at the user equipment; and

generate, for display, a visual element corresponding to the second scheduled media asset and indicating that the second scheduled media asset has been deleted from the local storage at the user equipment.

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

determine that a scheduled start time of the first scheduled media asset is prior to the first time and a scheduled end time of the first scheduled media asset is later than the first time;

partially record the first scheduled media asset from the first time;

transmit a query to the remote server for a stored copy of the first scheduled media asset stored by other users; and

in response to determining that the stored copy of the first scheduled media asset is available at the cloud storage server:

download, from the remote server to the local storage device at the user equipment, the stored copy of the first scheduled media asset; and

delete the partially stored first scheduled media asset.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry, when downloading, at the first time, from the remote server to a local storage device at a user device, the second set of previously stored media assets, is configured to:

download, from the remote server to the local storage device of the user equipment, a first previously stored media asset from the second set of previously stored media assets;

determine whether an amount of the first previously stored media asset that the user has viewed exceeds a threshold amount of the first media asset;

in response to determining that the amount of the first stored media asset that the user has viewed exceeds the threshold amount of the first media asset, determine one or more previously stored media assets from the second set of previously stored media assets, wherein the one or more previously stored media assets were previously stored subsequent to the first stored media asset; and

download, from the remote server and at the local storage of user equipment, the one or more previously stored media assets.

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

receive a second user command to skip or fast forward the first previously stored media asset;

determine, from the second set of stored media assets, whether there is a second previously stored media asset that has not been downloaded;

in response to determining that there is a second previously stored media asset that has not been downloaded, start downloading the one or more stored media assets; and

in response to determining that there is no other previously stored media asset that has not been downloaded from the second set of previously stored media assets, generate, for display, a stored copy of the first scheduled media asset.

18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine, from a data source, that a first period of time has lapsed since the event is finished;

determine whether any media asset from the arranged previously stored first set of scheduled media assets and the second set of stored media assets has been played during a past second period of time;

in response to determining that no media asset from the arranged stored first set of scheduled media assets and the second set of previously stored media assets has been played during the past second period of time, delete, in a batch, all media assets that belong to the arranged stored first set of scheduled media assets and the second set of previously stored media assets from the local storage device at the user equipment; and

generate, for display, a visual element corresponding to the event and indicating that the event has been deleted from the local storage at the user equipment.