Introduced in HyperCaster version 9.0, Scheduling Rules offer options to automatically schedule files to fill gaps in programming on a rolling basis.
Key capabilities
- Autofill Scheduling Rule – Fill open windows with content from select collections, with rotation fairness and episode ordering.
- Block Copy Scheduling Rule – Automatically copy and paste past day-part blocks forward. For example, copy yesterday’s or last week’s primetime schedule to today’s morning slot, or duplicate last Monday’s schedule to this Monday.
Set up Scheduling Rules
- Navigate to the Automation tab, and select Scheduling Rules.
- Click on the +Scheduling Rule button.
- To create a new Autofill Scheduling or Block Copy Rule, click on the corresponding Continue button.
Autofill Scheduling Rule
- Name – The unique name of the Auto Schedule rule.
- Channel – The channel to schedule against.
- Time Horizon (days) – Auto-scheduled will fill back-to-back events until this many days out. Defines how far into the future the rule may automatically create scheduled events. For example, a value of 7 allows the rule to maintain scheduled content up to seven days ahead.
- Include in Guide:
- No – Not included in the guide. Events created by this rule are excluded from guide output. Use this for fillers, promos, PSAs, ads, or other items that should not appear in the program guide.
- Yes – Included in the guide. Events created by this rule are included in guide output, regardless of the source item’s guide setting.
- Use Source – Events follow the guide setting of the source content or copied event. Use this when you want the rule to preserve the normal guide behavior of the selected content.
- Episode Burst – When a series episode is chosen, play this many consecutive episodes.
- Series Cooldown (minutes) – Wait this many minutes before scheduling another episode from the same series.
- Active – Check to enable the rule upon saving.
- Min Duration – Items will only be scheduled with a duration at or above this time.
- Max Duration – Items will only be scheduled with a duration at or below this amount of time.
- Content Age –
- Older than – This will limit scheduling content that is older than the selected age, based on the content file ingest date.
- New than – This will limit scheduling content that is newer than the selected age, based on the content file ingest date.
- Leave both fields on the Any age selection to include all content no matter the ingest date.
- Allow TBD’s – Allow future TBD’s from a series to be used once available.
- Day Part Start – Optional daily window start time for this rule.
- Day Part End – Optional daily window end time for this rule.
- Days of Week – Limit this rule to specific days of the week.
- Allowed Start Times – When custom start times is select, events will only begin on the selected minute mark versus immediately after the previous event ends. Support for selecting multiple custom start times is available.
- Content/Collections – Series are scheduled in-order, playlists/categories are randomized without repeats until a full rotation.
- Include Uncategorized Content? – Select this option to allow the rule to schedule eligible content that is not assigned to a category or collection. Leave unchecked if the rule should only use content from the selected collections.
- Include all current and future series – Select this option to allow the rule to schedule both current and any future content added to a series.
Example: Fill overnight gaps with PSAs
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Channel | Channel 1 |
| Time Horizon (days) | 7 |
| Include in Guide? | No |
| Episode Burst | 1 |
| Series Cooldown (minutes) | 0 |
| Min Duration | 00:00:05 |
| Max Duration | 00:09:59 |
| Active | Yes |
| Day Part Start | 00:00:00 |
| Day Part End | 06:00:00 |
| Days of Week | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday |
| Collections | PSA Playlist |
The result: Channel 1 will automatically fill open schedule gaps from midnight to 6:00 AM, Monday through Friday, for the next 7 days using content from the saved playlist “PSA Playlist.” Only items with durations between 5 seconds and 9 minutes, 59 seconds will be scheduled.
Once the Autofill Scheduling Rule is configured, click Save. The rule will now appear in the scheduling rules list.
The Autofill Scheduling Rule will run every morning at 3:00 AM local time. After a rule runs, the Scheduling Rules list shows the most recent run in the Last Run column.
To execute a rule manually, select the 3 
dots in the Actions column, and choose “Execute Rule” from the list of options.
This will open the Execute Autofill rule window, where you can manually enter a start/end time and start/end date. Using this method, the autofill rule will trigger and apply content to your schedule based on your start/end time and start/end date selection.
Select your start/end date
Select your start/end time
Then execute the rule
To unschedule an autofill rule using a custom date range:
Select the 3 dots in the Actions column, and choose “Unschedule Future Events” from the list of options.
Select the date range you want to unschedule your autofill rule, and then confirm by choosing “Unschedule”.
Block Copy Scheduling Rule
- Name – The unique name of the Block Copy rule.
- Time Horizon (days) – Auto scheduler will fill back-to-back events until this many days out. Defines how far into the future HyperCaster should continue applying this block copy rule.
- Include in Guide:
- No – Events created by this rule are excluded from guide output.
- Yes – Events created by this rule are included in guide output, regardless of the source event’s guide setting.
- Use Source – Events follow the guide setting of the source event. Use this when you want the copied events to preserve the normal guide behavior of the source schedule.
- Cancel Existing Conflicting Events? – Select this option if you want to cancel any events that might conflict with the block of programs you are copying.
- Channel – The channel to schedule against.
- Days – Select the days of the week you want to copy programs from.
- Start Time – Set the time you want the first program copied.
- Duration – The total amount of time you want to copy.
- Copy From – How many days earlier you are copying programs. For example, if you want Sunday’s schedule copied to Monday, it would be 1 day(s) earlier.
- Copy From Different Channel – Check this option if you are looking to copy programs from a different channel.
- Copy From Different Start Time – Select this option if you want to copy from a source start time.
You will have a copy preview displayed to confirm the days and durations you will have programming copied across your schedule going forward, automatically.
Example: Copy Sunday – Saturday from midnight to 5am
Example: Copy Sunday – Saturday from midnight to midnight (the whole week)
Example: Copy last Monday’s primetime to this Monday’s late night
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Active? | Yes |
| Time Horizon (days) | 14 |
| Include in Guide? | Use Source |
| Cancel Existing Conflicting Events? | No |
| Channel | Channel 1 |
| Days | Monday |
| Start Time | 23:00:00 |
| Duration | 03:00:00 |
| Copy From (days earlier) | 7 |
| Copy From Different Channel? | Yes |
| Source Channel | Channel 2 |
| Copy From Different Start Time? | Yes |
| Source Start Time | 19:00:00 |
The result: HyperCaster will copy a 3-hour block from Channel 2 every Monday, starting at 7:00 PM, and paste it to Channel 1 the following Monday at 11:00 PM. The rule applies up to 14 days ahead, preserves the source events’ guide settings, and doesn’t cancel existing conflicting events..
Once you have your Block Copy Scheduling Rule set up, click Save. Once your rule has been successfully saved, it will populate in the scheduling rules list.
By default, the Block Copy Scheduling Rule will run every morning at 3:00 AM local time. After a rule runs, the Scheduling Rules list shows the most recent run in the Last Run column.
To execute a rule manually, select the 3 
dots in the Actions column, and choose “Execute Rule” from the list of options.
This will open the Execute Autofill Rule window, where you can manually enter a start/end time and start/end date. Using this method, the autofill rule will trigger and apply content to your schedule based on your start/end time and start/end date selection.
Select your start/end date
Select your start/end time
Then execute the rule
Validate the Rule
After saving a rule:
- Return to Automation → Scheduling Rules.
- Confirm the rule appears in the list.
- Confirm the Last Run value after the next scheduled run. If desired, manually run the rule by clicking on the vertical ellipsis to the right of the Scheduling Rules grid and selecting Execute Rule.
- Open the channel schedule and verify that events were created only within the expected daypart, days of week, and time horizon.
- Confirm guide behavior by checking whether events appear or are hidden as expected.
- For Block Copy rules, compare the destination block against the source block to verify start times, durations, and event order.
Scheduling Rule Actions
The Rule Actions can be accessed via the vertical ellipsis in the Actions column on the Scheduling
Rules list.
Execute Rule – Manually triggers the rule to autoschedule given the saved parameters.
Unschedule Future Events – Unschedules all future events for the rule.
Reset State – Resets the state, counters, and horizon to “now” for the selected rule.
Rule Status (Autofill Rules only) – Provides an overview of the Autofill Rule’s configurations and status. Any Series that’s part of an Autofill Rule will appear in the Series section with the option to edit any rule using that series.
Article Version History
v2.0 – June 2026
