ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError
Unable to find video data
Error message
Unable to find video data
What it means
Error "Unable to find video data" thrown in ytdl-org/youtube-dl.
Source
Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/ninenow.py:65
r'window\.__data\s*=\s*({.*?});', webpage,
'page data', default='{}'), display_id, fatal=False)
if not page_data:
page_data = self._parse_json(self._parse_json(self._search_regex(
r'window\.__data\s*=\s*JSON\.parse\s*\(\s*(".+?")\s*\)\s*;',
webpage, 'page data'), display_id), display_id)
for kind in ('episode', 'clip'):
current_key = page_data.get(kind, {}).get(
'current%sKey' % kind.capitalize())
if not current_key:
continue
cache = page_data.get(kind, {}).get('%sCache' % kind, {})
if not cache:
continue
common_data = (cache.get(current_key) or list(cache.values())[0])[kind]
break
else:
raise ExtractorError('Unable to find video data')
video_data = common_data['video']
if video_data.get('drm'):
raise ExtractorError('This video is DRM protected.', expected=True)
brightcove_id = video_data.get('brightcoveId') or 'ref:' + video_data['referenceId']
video_id = compat_str(video_data.get('id') or brightcove_id)
title = common_data['name']
thumbnails = [{
'id': thumbnail_id,
'url': thumbnail_url,
'width': int_or_none(thumbnail_id[1:])
} for thumbnail_id, thumbnail_url in common_data.get('image', {}).get('sizes', {}).items()]
return {
'_type': 'url_transparent',View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)
Solutions
- Update youtube-dl; the site's video data structure may have changed.
When it happens
Trigger: Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/ninenow.py:65 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/35f896ff595b7505.
Report an issue: GitHub.