diff --git a/youtube_dl/downloader/rtmp.py b/youtube_dl/downloader/rtmp.py
index 67461f160..034875ab7 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/downloader/rtmp.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/downloader/rtmp.py
@@ -155,9 +155,14 @@ class RtmpFD(FileDownloader):
         RD_SUCCESS = 0
         RD_FAILED = 1
         RD_INCOMPLETE = 2
+        RD_NO_CONNECT = 3
 
         retval = run_rtmpdump(args)
 
+        if retval == RD_NO_CONNECT:
+            self.to_screen(u'[rtmpdump] Could not connect to RTMP server.')
+            return False
+
         while (retval == RD_INCOMPLETE or retval == RD_FAILED) and not test:
             prevsize = os.path.getsize(encodeFilename(tmpfilename))
             self.to_screen(u'[rtmpdump] %s bytes' % prevsize)