CBS new shows get ERROR: Could not find XML element title

[Minwol]

• I'm reporting a broken site support
• I've verified that I'm running youtube-dl version 2020.11.17
• I've checked that all provided URLs are alive and playable in a browser
• I've checked that all URLs and arguments with special characters are properly quoted or escaped
• I've searched the bugtracker for similar issues including closed ones

Verbose log

[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Custom config: []
[debug] Command-line args: ['-v', 'https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis-new-orleans/video/_2DEJoZKRPsStgPJrekAJ5wMph_qM2jO/ncis-new-orleans-something-in-the-air-part-2/']
[debug] Encodings: locale cp1252, fs mbcs, out cp437, pref cp1252
[debug] youtube-dl version 2020.11.17
[debug] Python version 3.4.4 (CPython) - Windows-10-10.0.19041
[debug] exe versions: ffmpeg N-94001-g1e7a8b92ee, ffprobe N-94001-g1e7a8b92ee
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[CBS] _2DEJoZKRPsStgPJrekAJ5wMph_qM2jO: Downloading XML
ERROR: Could not find XML element title; please report this issue on https://yt-dl.org/bug . Make sure you are using the latest version; type youtube-dl -U to update. Be sure to call youtube-dl with the --verbose flag and include its complete output.
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\dst\AppData\Roaming\Build archive\youtube-dl\ytdl-org\tmpa0zbt1ts\build\youtube_dl\YoutubeDL.py", line 797, in extract_info
File "C:\Users\dst\AppData\Roaming\Build archive\youtube-dl\ytdl-org\tmpa0zbt1ts\build\youtube_dl\extractor\common.py", line 532, in extract
File "C:\Users\dst\AppData\Roaming\Build archive\youtube-dl\ytdl-org\tmpa0zbt1ts\build\youtube_dl\extractor\cbs.py", line 112, in _real_extract
File "C:\Users\dst\AppData\Roaming\Build archive\youtube-dl\ytdl-org\tmpa0zbt1ts\build\youtube_dl\extractor\cbs.py", line 62, in _extract_video_info
File "C:\Users\dst\AppData\Roaming\Build archive\youtube-dl\ytdl-org\tmpa0zbt1ts\build\youtube_dl\utils.py", line 1910, in xpath_text
File "C:\Users\dst\AppData\Roaming\Build archive\youtube-dl\ytdl-org\tmpa0zbt1ts\build\youtube_dl\utils.py", line 1903, in xpath_element
youtube_dl.utils.ExtractorError: Could not find XML element title; please report this issue on https://yt-dl.org/bug . Make sure you are using the latest version; type youtube-dl -U to update. Be sure to call youtube-dl with the --verbose flag and include its complete output.

Description

Getting this error on newer shows:
ERROR: Could not find XML element title; please report this issue on https://yt-dl.org/bug . Make sure you are using the latest version; type youtube-dl -U to update. Be sure to call youtube-dl with the --verbose flag and include its complete output.

It seems to be affecting newer shows and not older shows. Here is an example URL for part 2 of a show where I get the error:
https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis-new-orleans/video/_2DEJoZKRPsStgPJrekAJ5wMph_qM2jO/ncis-new-orleans-something-in-the-air-part-2/

This same show episode but part 1 works:
https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis-new-orleans/video/yGX8nbL8Db3KBG2nhau03g4i5tqV3_iU/ncis-new-orleans-something-in-the-air-part-i/

Did CBS change thier xml titles for only newer shows?

[raleeper]

It looks like CBS is adding DRM to newer episodes. Even if youtube-dl could interpret the new XML it wouldn't be able to download the episode because of the DRM. See duplicate issue #26993

[keith-leitch]

It looks like CBS is adding DRM to newer episodes. Even if youtube-dl could interpret the new XML it wouldn't be able to download the episode because of the DRM. See duplicate issue #26993

No, it is not that simple. Users are getting this error erratically on different videos from each other. I just downloaded @Minwol 's Part 2 video of NCIS New Orleans from the same link s/he posted. In every thread that reports this problem, the download works fo me. Other users can download the CBS videos that give me a problem. I know it's easy to assume that weird behavior is always DRM, but I hope someone with knowledge I lack can see through to the real problem.

[keith-leitch]

What I'm hoping to impress on everyone is that the "Could not find XML Element" error, being reported so often from CBS.com, cannot be a DRM issue. It just makes no sense, for these reasons:

1. CBS would not add DRM then take it off later. The list below shows links that "didn't work" then "did work" a few days later.

2. I can't see why CBS would add DRM to OTA videos but not to Subscription videos. The list below shows that the latest episode of "Star Trek: Discovery" works.

3. If youtube-dl updates solved the problem, then all videos would now work. Some still don't. I am not adding the full bug report for these, because I think the problem's been reported to death. If someone thinks I should, then I will.

4. The error message does not mention DRM. It says that the downloader "Could not find the XML element.' I'm inclined to take that message at face value, and conclude that the script is sometimes missing the metadata that the downloader needs.

Examples of CBS videos that youtube-dl/c could not download before, but now can. It would be weird in the extreme for CBS to add DRM, then remove it days later.

https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-neighborhood/video/hybfwzvq_TWhJJSE4FXfT_vQB9Ky3Sr_/the-neighborhood-welcome-to-the-movement/
https://cbs.com/shows/seal-team/video/a4Af8ptKlr5gthauHnde5C9JdeJcNnWa/seal-team-god-of-war-forever-war/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis-new-orleans/video/_2DEJoZKRPsStgPJrekAJ5wMph_qM2jO/ncis-new-orleans-something-in-the-air-part-2/

Examples of CBS videos that youtube-dl/c can't download today. These show that the youtube-dl patch mentioned by @october262 has not addressed this issue. Also, youtube-dlc downloads the list above, but not below.

https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis/video/656bTfET07GnL8vgDviQnyaOwGKdaF2W/ncis-sturgeon-season/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis/video/JJqb_JEapMBMVdn7FYsQMqBamGyQhaTQ/ncis-everything-starts-somewhere/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis/video/HAvQcadOM_QgDzFd6yK8BZm5iTgkZCta/ncis-blood-and-treasure/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-unicorn/video/ZlEfHIHOKkLTDAOQb5YSz8m_wdiKiCZw/the-unicorn-there-s-something-about-whoever-she-was/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-unicorn/video/UqeHafhusoogPFU_YGNbfDxUYE4wkm6Z/the-unicorn-it-s-complicated/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-unicorn/video/72nFb7mACKi28mWkfV09uMsIKqfmkdqT/the-unicorn-it-s-the-thought-that-counts/

Examples of CBS videos that work just fine today. Notice that one of these is subscription-only. It would be weird in the extreme for CBS to add DRM to OTA video, but not subscription. Notice also that this video and the others are newer than the failures above. It would be weird in the extreme for CBS to add DRM to older videos, but not newer.

https://www.cbs.com/shows/bob-hearts-abishola/video/e3Dis09PuIcoec0ADzv7XKJGsEtw9vhw/bob-hearts-abishola-camp-bananas/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/magnum-pi/video/o_eBPsGoVAeXvXg_fozxT88bfunT_HqP/magnum-p-i-easy-money/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/young-sheldon/video/Fmt0hKA3hj05An8XK3hl_ZGmw_xgvKKp/young-sheldon-bible-camp-and-a-chariot-of-love/
https://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/video/73BJ1N0qerkG0WPoUKNuDPcvBdvD6fEX/star-trek-discovery-terra-firma-part-1/

The only logical conclusion is that this is not, in fact, a DRM issue. It seems like stamping a problem "DRM" is always the simplest answer, but it just makes no sense, here. I wish I was better with Python so that I could be more help, but I hope that someone who is can see the logic of my argument.