diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.busyFocus.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.busyFocus.dom.test.tsx
index 4882f202..18672182 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.busyFocus.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.busyFocus.dom.test.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 // ui/Button in E11 S2), so a busy toggle blocks the click with aria-disabled instead — focusable, and
 // still pressed only once.
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
-import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeAll, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeAll, afterEach, onTestFinished } from "vitest";
 import { render, screen, fireEvent, waitFor, cleanup, act } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
@@ -97,3 +97,53 @@ describe("ChannelPage — a busy toggle keeps the keyboard", () => {
     },
   );
 });
+
+// The banner is retried on error (googleusercontent drops a burst); while an attempt fails and the
+// next waits, a visible <img> shows the browser's broken-image glyph (seen live, E28). It stays
+// invisible until a source has actually loaded.
+describe("ChannelPage — the banner", () => {
+  it("is invisible until it loads, and again while a failed attempt is retried", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ shouldAdvanceTime: true });
+    onTestFinished(() => {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    });
+    vi.spyOn(api, "channelDetail").mockResolvedValue({
+      id: CH,
+      title: "LEMMiNO",
+      subscribed: true,
+      blocked: false,
+      hidden: false,
+      deep_requested: false,
+      backfill_done: true,
+      stored_videos: 10,
+      banner_url: "https://yt3.example/banner",
+    } as unknown as ChannelDetail);
+    vi.spyOn(api, "tags").mockResolvedValue([] as never);
+    const { container } = render(
+      <QueryClientProvider
+        client={new QueryClient({ defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false } } })}
+      >
+        <ChannelPage
+          channelId={CH}
+          initialName="LEMMiNO"
+          me={{ id: 1, can_write: true } as unknown as Me}
+          view="cards"
+          setView={() => {}}
+          onShowInFeed={() => {}}
+        />
+      </QueryClientProvider>,
+    );
+    const banner = () =>
+      container.querySelector<HTMLImageElement>('img[src^="https://yt3.example/banner"]')!;
+    await waitFor(() => expect(banner()).toBeTruthy());
+    expect(banner().classList.contains("opacity-0")).toBe(true);
+    fireEvent.error(banner());
+    await act(async () => {
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(600);
+    });
+    expect(banner().getAttribute("src")).toContain("?r=1");
+    expect(banner().classList.contains("opacity-0")).toBe(true);
+    fireEvent.load(banner());
+    expect(banner().classList.contains("opacity-0")).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.tsx
index 147e9efb..af605411 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ChannelPage.tsx
@@ -88,6 +88,9 @@ export default function ChannelPage({
   // only fall back to the blank bar if it keeps failing (a genuinely dead URL — rare).
   const MAX_BANNER_RETRIES = 3;
   const [bannerAttempt, setBannerAttempt] = useState(0);
+  // The banner source that has actually loaded. Until then the <img> is invisible: an attempt that
+  // fails shows the browser's broken-image glyph for as long as the retry waits (seen live, E28).
+  const [bannerLoaded, setBannerLoaded] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
   // A LIVE query: while THIS user's full-history backfill is running, poll so the stored count (and
   // the N/S/L breakdown) climb on their own — the immediate backfill fills it in seconds, and the
@@ -319,12 +322,15 @@ export default function ChannelPage({
   // The channel page owns no scroller of its own (PageShell provides the one app scroller). Its
   // whole chrome is fixed — wrapped in <PageToolbar> it portals into the shell's fixed band, so the
   // banner/identity/tabs/toolbar stay put and only the video grid scrolls.
+  const bannerSrc = ch?.banner_url
+    ? `${ch.banner_url}=w1707${bannerAttempt ? `?r=${bannerAttempt}` : ""}`
+    : null;
   return (
     <>
       <PageToolbar>
         {/* Banner + back — OPTION C: inset, rounded card (not full-bleed) */}
         <div className="relative px-4 sm:px-6 pt-3">
-          {ch?.banner_url && bannerAttempt <= MAX_BANNER_RETRIES ? (
+          {bannerSrc && bannerAttempt <= MAX_BANNER_RETRIES ? (
             // Match YouTube's banner: the stored bannerExternalUrl is the full 16:9 template at a
             // low default size, so request a crisp wide version (=w1707) and object-cover the
             // desktop "safe area" — the centre 2560×423 (~6:1) band.
@@ -336,9 +342,12 @@ export default function ChannelPage({
                 // key forces a fresh <img> per attempt; the ?r= cache-buster on a retry bypasses the
                 // browser's negative cache (googleusercontent accepts an extra query param).
                 key={bannerAttempt}
-                src={`${ch.banner_url}=w1707${bannerAttempt ? `?r=${bannerAttempt}` : ""}`}
+                src={bannerSrc}
                 alt=""
-                className="w-full h-full object-cover object-center"
+                className={`w-full h-full object-cover object-center ${
+                  bannerLoaded === bannerSrc ? "" : "opacity-0"
+                }`}
+                onLoad={() => setBannerLoaded(bannerSrc)}
                 onError={() => {
                   if (bannerAttempt <= MAX_BANNER_RETRIES) {
                     window.setTimeout(