diff --git a/stream/stream.c b/stream/stream.c
index 99e871d5a0..5eee953bf6 100644
--- a/stream/stream.c
+++ b/stream/stream.c
@@ -394,16 +394,22 @@ stream_t *open_output_stream(const char *filename, struct mpv_global *global)
 static int stream_reconnect(stream_t *s)
 {
 #define MAX_RECONNECT_RETRIES 5
-#define RECONNECT_SLEEP_MS 1000
+#define RECONNECT_SLEEP_MAX_MS 500
     if (!s->streaming)
         return 0;
     if (!(s->flags & MP_STREAM_SEEK_FW))
         return 0;
     int64_t pos = s->pos;
+    int sleep_ms = 5;
     for (int retry = 0; retry < MAX_RECONNECT_RETRIES; retry++) {
         MP_WARN(s, "Connection lost! Attempting to reconnect (%d)...\n", retry + 1);
 
-        if (stream_check_interrupt(retry ? RECONNECT_SLEEP_MS : 0))
+        if (retry) {
+            mp_sleep_us(sleep_ms * 1000);
+            sleep_ms = MPMIN(sleep_ms * 2, RECONNECT_SLEEP_MAX_MS);
+        }
+
+        if (stream_check_interrupt(0))
             return 0;
 
         s->eof = 1;