If I understand the OP: When I had ViP's it was immediate. That is if you mean the limit of EVENTS was reached (it was in the hundreds, I do remember--you can see the REAL number of all events if you select SHOW SKIPPED), as soon as the event completes and closes the recording, the DVR would then bring in the next event right away. I used to have such situations now and then and that is how it worked when I had ViP's. If you want more confidence, then display Show Skipped and see if a show is on the events list--EVEN IF IT IS SKIPPED AND WON'T RECORD IT STILL TAKES UP ROOM ON THE EVENTS LIST--a lot and delete that timer and that makes immediate room for new events. After the marathon, you can (re)create that timer you had deleted earlier.