diff --git a/youtube-dl b/youtube-dl
index d3f277110..0df6ba141 100755
--- a/youtube-dl
+++ b/youtube-dl
@@ -152,9 +152,16 @@ class FileDownloader(object):
 	def to_stderr(self, message):
 		"""Print message to stderr."""
 		sys.stderr.write('%s\n' % message)
+	
+	def fixed_template(self):
+		"""Checks if the output template is fixed."""
+		return (re.search(ur'%\(.+?\)s', self._params['outtmpl']) is None)
 
 	def download(self, url_list):
 		"""Download a given list of URLs."""
+		if len(url_list) > 1 and self.fixed_template():
+			sys.exit('ERROR: fixed output name but more than one file to download')
+
 		for url in url_list:
 			suitable_found = False
 			for ie in self._ies:
@@ -164,7 +171,7 @@ class FileDownloader(object):
 				suitable_found = True
 				results = [x for x in ie.extract(url) if x is not None]
 
-				if (len(url_list) > 1 or len(results) > 1) and re.search(r'%\(.+?\)s', self._params['outtmpl']) is None:
+				if len(results) > 1 and self.fixed_template():
 					sys.exit('ERROR: fixed output name but more than one file to download')
 
 				if self._params.get('simulate', False):