1. A method comprising: receiving, at a computing device, media data corresponding to a media content item; analyzing, at the computing device, the media data to determine characteristics of the media content item based on first visual information contained in the media content item; analyzing, at the computing device, the characteristics of the media content item based on a media popularity model to generate a prediction of whether the media content item is likely to exceed a popularity threshold within a particular period of time; and initiating storage of the media content item at a network location selected from a plurality of network locations based on the prediction.