diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/cspan.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/cspan.py
index 7b685d157d..154bddb430 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/cspan.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/cspan.py
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ class CSpanIE(InfoExtractor):
 
     def _real_extract(self, url):
         video_id = self._match_id(url)
+        video_type = None
         webpage = self._download_webpage(url, video_id)
         matches = re.search(r'data-(prog|clip)id=\'([0-9]+)\'', webpage)
         if matches:
@@ -70,6 +71,8 @@ class CSpanIE(InfoExtractor):
                 title = self._og_search_title(webpage)
                 surl = smuggle_url(senate_isvp_url, {'force_title': title})
                 return self.url_result(surl, 'SenateISVP', video_id, title)
+        if video_type is None or video_id is None:
+            raise ExtractorError('unable to find video id and type')
 
         def get_text_attr(d, attr):
             return d.get(attr, {}).get('#text')