diff --git a/core/nfo_manager.py b/core/nfo_manager.py
index 0c650fe..b801406 100644
--- a/core/nfo_manager.py
+++ b/core/nfo_manager.py
@@ -633,22 +633,32 @@ class NFOManager:
     def create_episode_nfo(self, season_dir: Path, season_num: int, episode_num: int,
                           aired: Optional[str], dateadded: Optional[str], source: str,
                           lock_metadata: bool = True, enhanced_metadata: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None) -> None:
-        """Create or update episode NFO file preserving existing content"""
-        # Generate episode filename pattern
-        episode_filename = f"S{season_num:02d}E{episode_num:02d}.nfo"
-        nfo_path = season_dir / episode_filename
-        
-        # Track if we need to delete an old long-named NFO file
-        old_nfo_to_delete = None
+        """Create or update episode NFO file - preserves existing long names matching video files"""
         
         try:
-            # First, check for existing long-named NFO files that need migration
-            existing_long_nfo = self.find_existing_episode_nfo(season_dir, season_num, episode_num)
+            # First, check for NFO files that match video file names (preserve long names)
+            existing_matching_nfo = self.find_episode_nfo_matching_video(season_dir, season_num, episode_num)
             
-            # Prioritize long-named file for migration, otherwise use standard file
-            source_nfo_path = existing_long_nfo if existing_long_nfo else nfo_path if nfo_path.exists() else None
+            if existing_matching_nfo:
+                # Update the existing NFO in-place while preserving its filename
+                print(f"🎯 Updating existing NFO (preserving name): {existing_matching_nfo.name}")
+                success = self.update_episode_nfo_preserving_name(
+                    existing_matching_nfo, season_num, episode_num, aired, dateadded, source
+                )
+                if success:
+                    return  # Successfully updated, we're done
+                else:
+                    print(f"⚠️ Failed to update existing NFO, falling back to standard creation")
+            
+            # Fallback: Create standard S01E01.nfo format (for new episodes without existing NFOs)
+            episode_filename = f"S{season_num:02d}E{episode_num:02d}.nfo"
+            nfo_path = season_dir / episode_filename
+            
+            # Check if standard format NFO exists
+            source_nfo_path = nfo_path if nfo_path.exists() else None
             
             if source_nfo_path:
+                # Standard NFO file processing (S01E01.nfo format)
                 try:
                     tree = ET.parse(source_nfo_path)
                     episode = tree.getroot()
@@ -657,33 +667,16 @@ class NFOManager:
                     if episode.tag != "episodedetails":
                         raise ValueError("Root element is not <episodedetails>")
                     
-                    # If we're migrating from a long-named file, mark it for deletion
-                    if existing_long_nfo and source_nfo_path == existing_long_nfo:
-                        old_nfo_to_delete = existing_long_nfo
-                        print(f"📦 Migrating episode NFO: {existing_long_nfo.name} -> {episode_filename}")
-                        
-                        # Show what content fields are being preserved
-                        content_fields = ["title", "plot", "runtime", "premiered"]
-                        preserved_content = []
-                        for field in content_fields:
-                            elem = episode.find(field)
-                            if elem is not None and elem.text:
-                                preserved_content.append(field)
-                        if preserved_content:
-                            print(f"   📄 Preserving content: {', '.join(preserved_content)}")
+                    print(f"📝 Updating standard NFO: {episode_filename}")
                     
-                    # Preserve existing content fields and store NFOGuard-managed fields for re-adding
-                    preserved_values = {}
-                    
-                    # Extract and preserve NFOGuard-managed fields (we'll re-add these at the bottom)
+                    # Remove existing NFOGuard fields to re-add them at the bottom
                     nfoguard_fields = ["aired", "dateadded", "season", "episode"]
                     for tag in nfoguard_fields:
                         existing = episode.find(tag)
                         if existing is not None:
-                            # Store the value before removing
+                            # Preserve existing aired date if not provided
                             if tag == "aired" and not aired:
-                                aired = existing.text  # Preserve existing aired date
-                            preserved_values[tag] = existing.text
+                                aired = existing.text
                             episode.remove(existing)
                     
                     # Important: DO NOT remove content fields like title, plot, runtime, premiered, etc.
@@ -776,13 +769,7 @@ class NFOManager:
             print(f"✅ Successfully created/updated episode NFO: {nfo_path}")
             print(f"   S{season_num:02d}E{episode_num:02d}, Aired: {aired}, Date Added: {dateadded}")
             
-            # Clean up old long-named NFO file if we migrated from it
-            if old_nfo_to_delete and old_nfo_to_delete.exists():
-                try:
-                    old_nfo_to_delete.unlink()
-                    print(f"🗑️  Cleaned up old NFO file: {old_nfo_to_delete.name}")
-                except Exception as cleanup_error:
-                    print(f"⚠️  Warning: Could not delete old NFO file {old_nfo_to_delete.name}: {cleanup_error}")
+            # No cleanup needed - we preserve existing NFO filenames
             
         except Exception as e:
             print(f"❌ Error creating/updating episode NFO {nfo_path}: {e}")