diff --git a/fftools/ffmpeg_opt.c b/fftools/ffmpeg_opt.c
index 9445a2dd11..672054223a 100644
--- a/fftools/ffmpeg_opt.c
+++ b/fftools/ffmpeg_opt.c
@@ -2000,6 +2000,8 @@ static int read_ffserver_streams(OptionsContext *o, AVFormatContext *s, const ch
 {
     int i, err;
     AVFormatContext *ic = avformat_alloc_context();
+    if (!ic)
+        return AVERROR(ENOMEM);
 
     ic->interrupt_callback = int_cb;
     err = avformat_open_input(&ic, filename, NULL, NULL);