diff --git a/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser.ex b/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser.ex
index 9a0370c..26bacd7 100644
--- a/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser.ex
+++ b/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser.ex
@@ -20,29 +20,49 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceImageParser do
   def store_source_images(base_directory, source_metadata) do
     (source_metadata["thumbnails"] || [])
     |> Enum.filter(&(&1["filepath"] != nil))
-    |> select_useful_images()
+    |> select_useful_images(source_metadata)
     |> Enum.map(&move_image(&1, base_directory))
     |> Enum.into(%{})
   end
 
-  defp select_useful_images(images) do
+  defp select_useful_images(images, source_metadata) do
     labelled_images =
-      Enum.reduce(images, [], fn image_map, acc ->
+      Enum.reduce(images, %{}, fn image_map, acc ->
         case image_map do
-          %{"id" => "avatar_uncropped"} ->
-            acc ++ [{:poster, :poster_filepath, image_map["filepath"]}]
-
-          %{"id" => "banner_uncropped"} ->
-            acc ++ [{:fanart, :fanart_filepath, image_map["filepath"]}]
-
-          _ ->
-            acc
+          %{"id" => "avatar_uncropped"} -> put_image_key(acc, :poster, image_map["filepath"])
+          %{"id" => "banner_uncropped"} -> put_image_key(acc, :fanart, image_map["filepath"])
+          _ -> acc
         end
       end)
 
     labelled_images
-    |> Enum.concat([{:banner, :banner_filepath, determine_best_banner(images)}])
-    |> Enum.filter(fn {_, _, tmp_filepath} -> tmp_filepath end)
+    |> add_fallback_poster(source_metadata)
+    |> put_image_key(:banner, determine_best_banner(images))
+    |> Enum.filter(fn {_key, attrs} -> attrs.current_filepath end)
+  end
+
+  # If a poster is set, short-circuit and return the images as-is
+  defp add_fallback_poster(%{poster: _} = images, _), do: images
+
+  # If a poster is NOT set, see if we can find a suitable image to use as a fallback
+  defp add_fallback_poster(images, source_metadata) do
+    case source_metadata["entries"] do
+      nil -> images
+      [] -> images
+      [first_entry | _] -> add_poster_from_entry_thumbnail(images, first_entry)
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp add_poster_from_entry_thumbnail(images, entry) do
+    thumbnail =
+      (entry["thumbnails"] || [])
+      |> Enum.reverse()
+      |> Enum.find(& &1["filepath"])
+
+    case thumbnail do
+      nil -> images
+      _ -> put_image_key(images, :poster, thumbnail["filepath"])
+    end
   end
 
   defp determine_best_banner(images) do
@@ -58,12 +78,22 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceImageParser do
     Map.get(best_candidate || %{}, "filepath")
   end
 
-  defp move_image({filename, source_attr_name, tmp_filepath}, base_directory) do
-    extension = Path.extname(tmp_filepath)
-    final_filepath = Path.join([base_directory, "#{filename}#{extension}"])
+  defp move_image({_key, attrs}, base_directory) do
+    extension = Path.extname(attrs.current_filepath)
+    final_filepath = Path.join([base_directory, "#{attrs.final_filename}#{extension}"])
 
-    FilesystemUtils.cp_p!(tmp_filepath, final_filepath)
+    FilesystemUtils.cp_p!(attrs.current_filepath, final_filepath)
 
-    {source_attr_name, final_filepath}
+    {attrs.attribute_name, final_filepath}
+  end
+
+  defp put_image_key(map, key, image) do
+    attribute_atom = String.to_existing_atom("#{key}_filepath")
+
+    Map.put(map, key, %{
+      attribute_name: attribute_atom,
+      final_filename: to_string(key),
+      current_filepath: image
+    })
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker.ex b/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker.ex
index 52ec810..8ccfdf9 100644
--- a/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker.ex
+++ b/lib/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker.ex
@@ -77,10 +77,8 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceMetadataStorageWorker do
 
   defp fetch_source_metadata_and_images(series_directory, source) do
     metadata_directory = MetadataFileHelpers.metadata_directory_for(source)
-    tmp_output_path = "#{tmp_directory()}/#{StringUtils.random_string(16)}/source_image.%(ext)S"
-    opts = [:write_all_thumbnails, convert_thumbnails: "jpg", output: tmp_output_path]
 
-    {:ok, metadata} = MediaCollection.get_source_metadata(source.original_url, opts)
+    {:ok, metadata} = fetch_metadata_for_source(source)
     metadata_image_attrs = SourceImageParser.store_source_images(metadata_directory, metadata)
 
     if source.media_profile.download_source_images && series_directory do
@@ -110,6 +108,20 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceMetadataStorageWorker do
     end
   end
 
+  defp fetch_metadata_for_source(source) do
+    tmp_output_path = "#{tmp_directory()}/#{StringUtils.random_string(16)}/source_image.%(ext)S"
+    base_opts = [convert_thumbnails: "jpg", output: tmp_output_path]
+
+    opts =
+      if source.collection_type == :channel do
+        base_opts ++ [:write_all_thumbnails, playlist_items: 0]
+      else
+        base_opts ++ [:write_thumbnail, playlist_items: 1]
+      end
+
+    MediaCollection.get_source_metadata(source.original_url, opts)
+  end
+
   defp tmp_directory do
     Application.get_env(:pinchflat, :tmpfile_directory)
   end
diff --git a/lib/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection.ex b/lib/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection.ex
index 7e397ab..f657195 100644
--- a/lib/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection.ex
+++ b/lib/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection.ex
@@ -99,10 +99,21 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.YtDlp.MediaCollection do
   as a compressed blob for possible future use. That's why it's not getting formatted like
   `get_source_details/1`
 
+  ! IMPORTANT ! - you'll always want to set `playlist_items: int` in `addl_opts.
+  This is great if you want to also return details about the videos in the playlists,
+  but it should be set in all cases to not over-fetch data.
+  For channels you should usually set this to 0 since channels return all the
+  metadata we need without needing to fetch the videos. On the other hand, playlists
+  don't return very useful images so you can set this to 1 to get the first video's
+  images, for instance.
+
   Returns {:ok, map()} | {:error, any, ...}.
   """
-  def get_source_metadata(source_url, addl_opts \\ []) do
-    opts = [playlist_items: 0] ++ addl_opts
+  def get_source_metadata(source_url, addl_opts \\ [playlist_items: 0]) do
+    # This only validates that the `playlist_items` key is present. It's otherwise unused
+    _playlist_items = Keyword.fetch!(addl_opts, :playlist_items)
+
+    opts = [:skip_download] ++ addl_opts
     output_template = "playlist:%()j"
 
     with {:ok, output} <- backend_runner().run(source_url, opts, output_template),
diff --git a/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser_test.exs b/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser_test.exs
index 8ec3c6c..3f815ae 100644
--- a/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser_test.exs
+++ b/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_image_parser_test.exs
@@ -75,4 +75,51 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceImageParserTest do
       assert SourceImageParser.store_source_images(@base_dir, metadata) == %{}
     end
   end
+
+  describe "store_source_images/2 when testing fallbacks" do
+    test "uses the entries list for a fallback poster if needed" do
+      metadata = %{
+        "thumbnails" => [],
+        "entries" => [
+          %{
+            "thumbnails" => [%{"filepath" => "/app/test/support/files/channel_photos/a.0.jpg"}]
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+
+      expected = %{
+        poster_filepath: "#{@base_dir}/poster.jpg"
+      }
+
+      assert SourceImageParser.store_source_images(@base_dir, metadata) == expected
+    end
+
+    test "doesn't blow up if the entries list doesn't have any suitable thumbnails" do
+      metadata = %{
+        "thumbnails" => [],
+        "entries" => [
+          %{"thumbnails" => [%{"id" => "1"}]}
+        ]
+      }
+
+      assert SourceImageParser.store_source_images(@base_dir, metadata) == %{}
+    end
+
+    test "doesn't use the entries list if it's empty" do
+      metadata = %{
+        "thumbnails" => [],
+        "entries" => []
+      }
+
+      assert SourceImageParser.store_source_images(@base_dir, metadata) == %{}
+    end
+
+    test "doesn't use the entries list if it's not present" do
+      metadata = %{
+        "thumbnails" => []
+      }
+
+      assert SourceImageParser.store_source_images(@base_dir, metadata) == %{}
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker_test.exs b/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker_test.exs
index 503d0f3..d8b0324 100644
--- a/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker_test.exs
+++ b/test/pinchflat/metadata/source_metadata_storage_worker_test.exs
@@ -143,7 +143,9 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceMetadataStorageWorkerTest do
 
           {:ok, source_details_return_fixture(%{filename: filename})}
 
-        _url, _opts, ot when ot == @metadata_ot ->
+        _url, opts, ot when ot == @metadata_ot ->
+          assert {:convert_thumbnails, "jpg"} in opts
+
           {:ok, render_metadata(:channel_source_metadata)}
       end)
 
@@ -164,6 +166,42 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.Metadata.SourceMetadataStorageWorkerTest do
       Sources.delete_source(source, delete_files: true)
     end
 
+    test "calls one set of yt-dlp metadata opts for channels" do
+      stub(YtDlpRunnerMock, :run, fn
+        _url, _opts, ot when ot == @source_details_ot ->
+          {:ok, source_details_return_fixture()}
+
+        _url, opts, ot when ot == @metadata_ot ->
+          assert {:playlist_items, 0} in opts
+          assert :write_all_thumbnails in opts
+
+          {:ok, render_metadata(:channel_source_metadata)}
+      end)
+
+      profile = media_profile_fixture(%{download_source_images: true})
+      source = source_fixture(media_profile_id: profile.id, collection_type: :channel)
+
+      perform_job(SourceMetadataStorageWorker, %{id: source.id})
+    end
+
+    test "calls another set of yt-dlp metadata opts for playlists" do
+      stub(YtDlpRunnerMock, :run, fn
+        _url, _opts, ot when ot == @source_details_ot ->
+          {:ok, source_details_return_fixture()}
+
+        _url, opts, ot when ot == @metadata_ot ->
+          assert {:playlist_items, 1} in opts
+          assert :write_thumbnail in opts
+
+          {:ok, render_metadata(:channel_source_metadata)}
+      end)
+
+      profile = media_profile_fixture(%{download_source_images: true})
+      source = source_fixture(media_profile_id: profile.id, collection_type: :playlist)
+
+      perform_job(SourceMetadataStorageWorker, %{id: source.id})
+    end
+
     test "does not store source images if the profile is not set to" do
       stub(YtDlpRunnerMock, :run, fn
         _url, _opts, ot when ot == @source_details_ot ->
diff --git a/test/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection_test.exs b/test/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection_test.exs
index fa69e58..f08c649 100644
--- a/test/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection_test.exs
+++ b/test/pinchflat/yt_dlp/media_collection_test.exs
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.YtDlp.MediaCollectionTest do
 
     test "it passes the expected args to the backend runner" do
       expect(YtDlpRunnerMock, :run, fn @channel_url, opts, ot ->
-        assert opts == [playlist_items: 0]
+        assert opts == [:skip_download, playlist_items: 0]
         assert ot == "playlist:%()j"
 
         {:ok, "{}"}
@@ -152,12 +152,18 @@ defmodule Pinchflat.YtDlp.MediaCollectionTest do
 
     test "allows you to pass additional opts" do
       expect(YtDlpRunnerMock, :run, fn _url, opts, _ot ->
-        assert opts == [playlist_items: 0, real_opt: :yup]
+        assert opts == [:skip_download, playlist_items: 1, real_opt: :yup]
 
         {:ok, "{}"}
       end)
 
-      assert {:ok, _} = MediaCollection.get_source_metadata(@channel_url, real_opt: :yup)
+      assert {:ok, _} = MediaCollection.get_source_metadata(@channel_url, playlist_items: 1, real_opt: :yup)
+    end
+
+    test "blows up if you pass addl opts but don't pass playlist items" do
+      assert_raise KeyError, fn ->
+        MediaCollection.get_source_metadata(@channel_url, real_opt: :yup)
+      end
     end
   end
 end