diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/dailymotion.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/dailymotion.py
index 9a74906cb..8f5f57b98 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/dailymotion.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/dailymotion.py
@@ -144,7 +144,8 @@ class DailymotionIE(DailymotionBaseInfoExtractor):
 
         age_limit = self._rta_search(webpage)
 
-        description = self._og_search_description(webpage) or self._html_search_meta(
+        description = self._og_search_description(
+            webpage, default=None) or self._html_search_meta(
             'description', webpage, 'description')
 
         view_count_str = self._search_regex(