diff --git a/player/sub.c b/player/sub.c
index ea74297bd7..b5dcb0ceb5 100644
--- a/player/sub.c
+++ b/player/sub.c
@@ -138,7 +138,9 @@ static bool update_subtitle(struct MPContext *mpctx, double video_pts,
         // Handle displaying subtitles on terminal.
         if (track->selected && track->type == STREAM_SUB && !mpctx->video_out) {
             char *text = sub_get_text(dec_sub, video_pts, SD_TEXT_TYPE_PLAIN);
-            term_osd_set_subs(mpctx, text, get_order(mpctx, track));
+            int order = get_order(mpctx, track);
+            if (order >= 0)
+                term_osd_set_subs(mpctx, text, order);
             talloc_free(text);
         }