Watch, Skip, Repeat: Hotspot-Aware Joint Optimization for Video Streaming

Video streaming platforms and existing ABRs traditionally assume uninterrupted sequential playback, yet users frequently skip to points of interest-a fundamental mismatch causing degradation of quality of experience at high-interest segments while wasting bandwidth on skipped content. We address this through our Hotspot-Aware Joint Optimization framework, which reframes video streaming as a non-monotonic optimization problem with discontinuous state transitions caused by navigation events. Our framework jointly optimizes adaptive bitrate decisions and buffer management by leveraging viewer engagement patterns to predict navigation behavior. Our approach combines: (1) a mathematical formulation capturing state discontinuities in non-sequential viewing, (2) self-supervised models predicting navigation targets using only aggregate viewing data, and (3) hotspot-aware ABR and buffer management algorithms implemented through our Streaming Local Search (SLS) technique that dynamically prioritize quality for frequently-watched segments. Evaluation across diverse content and network conditions demonstrates our framework delivers 38.2% higher quality in hotspot regions, 32.5% reduced navigation delays, and 27.1% improved resource efficiency compared to traditional methods. These improvements establish a foundation for streaming systems that adapt to both network conditions and content structure, aligning resource allocation with actual viewing patterns.