ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError

This video is only available via cable service provider subs

Error message

This video is only available via cable service provider subscription that is not currently supported. You may want to use --cookies.

What it means

Error "This video is only available via cable service provider subscription that is not currently supported. You may want to use --cookies." thrown in ytdl-org/youtube-dl.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/discoverygo.py:36

class DiscoveryGoBaseIE(InfoExtractor):
    _VALID_URL_TEMPLATE = r'''(?x)https?://(?:www\.)?(?:
            discovery|
            investigationdiscovery|
            discoverylife|
            animalplanet|
            ahctv|
            destinationamerica|
            sciencechannel|
            tlc|
            velocitychannel
        )go\.com/%s(?P<id>[^/?#&]+)'''

    def _extract_video_info(self, video, stream, display_id):
        title = video['name']

        if not stream:
            if video.get('authenticated') is True:
                raise ExtractorError(
                    'This video is only available via cable service provider subscription that'
                    ' is not currently supported. You may want to use --cookies.', expected=True)
            else:
                raise ExtractorError('Unable to find stream')
        STREAM_URL_SUFFIX = 'streamUrl'
        formats = []
        for stream_kind in ('', 'hds'):
            suffix = STREAM_URL_SUFFIX.capitalize() if stream_kind else STREAM_URL_SUFFIX
            stream_url = stream.get('%s%s' % (stream_kind, suffix))
            if not stream_url:
                continue
            if stream_kind == '':
                formats.extend(self._extract_m3u8_formats(
                    stream_url, display_id, 'mp4', entry_protocol='m3u8_native',
                    m3u8_id='hls', fatal=False))
            elif stream_kind == 'hds':
                formats.extend(self._extract_f4m_formats(
                    stream_url, display_id, f4m_id=stream_kind, fatal=False))

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

1. Pass browser cookies with --cookies after logging in with a supported cable provider.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/discoverygo.py:36 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/d231914b7a99903c. Report an issue: GitHub.