This may be off topic, but I was searching around for an option to lock certain episodes from auto delete altogether. i.e., Vice would have special reports in addition to their regular programming that I’ve found interesting and would want to keep.
As of currently, there is no option do do that.
I guess a work around to have your cake and to be able to eat it too, would be a separate archive library in which you move the content into.
See also: Lock Specific Episodes from Auto Delete