ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError
Could not find player definition
Error message
Could not find player definition
What it means
Error "Could not find player definition" thrown in ytdl-org/youtube-dl.
Source
Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/nowness.py:34
class NownessBaseIE(InfoExtractor):
def _extract_url_result(self, post):
if post['type'] == 'video':
for media in post['media']:
if media['type'] == 'video':
video_id = media['content']
source = media['source']
if source == 'brightcove':
player_code = self._download_webpage(
'http://www.nowness.com/iframe?id=%s' % video_id, video_id,
note='Downloading player JavaScript',
errnote='Unable to download player JavaScript')
bc_url = BrightcoveLegacyIE._extract_brightcove_url(player_code)
if bc_url:
return self.url_result(bc_url, BrightcoveLegacyIE.ie_key())
bc_url = BrightcoveNewIE._extract_url(self, player_code)
if bc_url:
return self.url_result(bc_url, BrightcoveNewIE.ie_key())
raise ExtractorError('Could not find player definition')
elif source == 'vimeo':
return self.url_result('http://vimeo.com/%s' % video_id, 'Vimeo')
elif source == 'youtube':
return self.url_result(video_id, 'Youtube')
elif source == 'cinematique':
# youtube-dl currently doesn't support cinematique
# return self.url_result('http://cinematique.com/embed/%s' % video_id, 'Cinematique')
pass
def _api_request(self, url, request_path):
display_id = self._match_id(url)
request = sanitized_Request(
'http://api.nowness.com/api/' + request_path % display_id,
headers={
'X-Nowness-Language': 'zh-cn' if 'cn.nowness.com' in url else 'en-us',
})
return display_id, self._download_json(request, display_id)
View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)
Solutions
- Update youtube-dl; the player definition could not be located on the page.
When it happens
Trigger: Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/nowness.py:34 when the library encounters an invalid state.
Common situations: See trigger scenarios.
AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14).
Data as JSON: /api/errors/065375144f8fbf1d.
Report an issue: GitHub.