diff --git a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/BlueskyThoughtProvider.cs b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/BlueskyThoughtProvider.cs
index e8b31dd..4a65c53 100644
--- a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/BlueskyThoughtProvider.cs
+++ b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/BlueskyThoughtProvider.cs
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
             return cached;
         }
 
+        progress = InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(cache, cacheKey, progress);
+
         try
         {
             string? token = await GetAccessTokenAsync(ct);
diff --git a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/InitialLoadProgress.cs b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/InitialLoadProgress.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12e8a90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/InitialLoadProgress.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory;
+
+using WatchBack.Core.Models;
+
+namespace WatchBack.Infrastructure.ThoughtProviders;
+
+/// <summary>
+///     Limits sync progress reporting to a provider's first fetch for a given media item.
+///     The frontend shows the loading bar whenever it sees intermediate progress, so
+///     background retries (after a failure) and TTL refreshes must stay silent: the bar is
+///     meant for the initial bulk content load only.
+/// </summary>
+internal static class InitialLoadProgress
+{
+    private static readonly TimeSpan s_markerTtl = TimeSpan.FromHours(24);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Returns <paramref name="progress" /> the first time <paramref name="cacheKey" /> is fetched
+    ///     and <c>null</c> on every later fetch (retry or refresh) within the marker's lifetime.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static IProgress<SyncProgressTick>? ForFetch(
+        IMemoryCache cache, string cacheKey, IProgress<SyncProgressTick>? progress)
+    {
+        string markerKey = $"{cacheKey}:initial-load";
+        if (cache.TryGetValue(markerKey, out _))
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        cache.Set(markerKey, true, s_markerTtl);
+        return progress;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/LemmyThoughtProvider.cs b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/LemmyThoughtProvider.cs
index b7d1079..9348c84 100644
--- a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/LemmyThoughtProvider.cs
+++ b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/LemmyThoughtProvider.cs
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
             return cached;
         }
 
+        progress = InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(cache, cacheKey, progress);
+
         int reported = 0;
         try
         {
diff --git a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/RedditThoughtProvider.cs b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/RedditThoughtProvider.cs
index f429c53..1349a84 100644
--- a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/RedditThoughtProvider.cs
+++ b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/RedditThoughtProvider.cs
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ public sealed class RedditThoughtProvider(
         @"\bS(\d{1,2})E\d+\b|\b(\d{1,2})x\d+\b|\bSeason\s+(\d+)\b",
         RegexOptions.Compiled | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
 
+    private static readonly TimeSpan s_failureCacheTtl = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
+
     private static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<(int, int), Regex[]> s_episodeRegexCache = new();
 
     private readonly RedditOptions _options = options.Value;
@@ -78,6 +80,8 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
                 return cached;
             }
 
+            progress = InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(cache, cacheKey, progress);
+
             IReadOnlyList<string> mappedSubreddits = mappingService.GetSubreddits(mediaContext);
             IReadOnlyList<string> subredditsToSearch = mappedSubreddits.Count > 0
                 ? mappedSubreddits
@@ -208,12 +212,12 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
             if (submissions.Count == 0)
             {
                 ThoughtResult emptyResult = s_empty;
-                // Only cache confirmed archive misses (at least one 2xx from PullPush).
-                // Timeout/network failures are transient — don't prevent future retries.
-                if (anySpecSucceeded)
-                {
-                    cache.Set(cacheKey, emptyResult, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(_options.CacheTtlSeconds));
-                }
+                // Confirmed archive misses (at least one 2xx from PullPush) get the full TTL.
+                // Timeout/network/429 failures are transient, so they're only cached briefly:
+                // retrying every poll cycle would re-report progress ticks and flash the
+                // frontend loading bar for as long as PullPush keeps failing.
+                cache.Set(cacheKey, emptyResult,
+                    anySpecSucceeded ? TimeSpan.FromSeconds(_options.CacheTtlSeconds) : s_failureCacheTtl);
 
                 return emptyResult;
             }
diff --git a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/TraktThoughtProvider.cs b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/TraktThoughtProvider.cs
index 6037a42..a1fbf48 100644
--- a/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/TraktThoughtProvider.cs
+++ b/src/WatchBack.Infrastructure/ThoughtProviders/TraktThoughtProvider.cs
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ public sealed class TraktThoughtProvider(
     private static readonly ThoughtResult s_empty =
         new("Trakt", null, null, null, [], null);
 
+    // Failed lookups (429s, unresolved slugs, transient errors) are cached briefly so
+    // the 5-second poll loop doesn't redo the work, and re-tick, every cycle.
+    private static readonly TimeSpan s_failureCacheTtl = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
+
     private readonly TraktOptions _options = options.Value;
 
     public DataProviderMetadata Metadata => new(
@@ -73,6 +77,8 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
             return cached;
         }
 
+        progress = InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(cache, cacheKey, progress);
+
         try
         {
             EpisodeContext? episode = mediaContext as EpisodeContext;
@@ -84,7 +90,7 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
                 if (movieId == null)
                 {
                     logger.LogWarning("Trakt: no movie found for '{Title}'", mediaContext.Title);
-                    return s_empty;
+                    return CacheFailure(cacheKey);
                 }
 
                 commentsUrl = $"https://api.trakt.tv/movies/{movieId}/comments/newest";
@@ -95,7 +101,7 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
                 if (showId == null)
                 {
                     logger.LogWarning("Trakt: no show found for '{Title}'", mediaContext.Title);
-                    return s_empty;
+                    return CacheFailure(cacheKey);
                 }
 
                 commentsUrl =
@@ -110,7 +116,7 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
             {
                 logger.LogWarning("Trakt comments failed: HTTP {Status} for '{Title}'",
                     (int)commentsResponse.StatusCode, mediaContext.Title);
-                return s_empty;
+                return CacheFailure(cacheKey);
             }
 
             string commentsContent = await commentsResponse.Content.ReadAsStringAsync(ct);
@@ -148,7 +154,7 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
             logger.LogError(ex, "Trakt thought fetch failed");
-            return s_empty;
+            return CacheFailure(cacheKey);
         }
         finally
         {
@@ -156,6 +162,12 @@ public string GetCacheKey(MediaContext mediaContext)
         }
     }
 
+    private ThoughtResult CacheFailure(string cacheKey)
+    {
+        cache.Set(cacheKey, s_empty, s_failureCacheTtl);
+        return s_empty;
+    }
+
     public async Task<ServiceHealth> GetServiceHealthAsync(CancellationToken ct = default)
     {
         try
diff --git a/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/InitialLoadProgressTests.cs b/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/InitialLoadProgressTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fbf36c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/InitialLoadProgressTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+using FluentAssertions;
+
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory;
+
+using NSubstitute;
+
+using WatchBack.Core.Models;
+using WatchBack.Infrastructure.ThoughtProviders;
+
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests;
+
+public class InitialLoadProgressTests : IDisposable
+{
+    private readonly MemoryCache _cache = new(new MemoryCacheOptions());
+
+    public void Dispose()
+    {
+        _cache.Dispose();
+        GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ForFetch_FirstCall_ReturnsProgress()
+    {
+        IProgress<SyncProgressTick> progress = Substitute.For<IProgress<SyncProgressTick>>();
+
+        InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(_cache, "key", progress).Should().BeSameAs(progress);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ForFetch_SecondCallForSameKey_ReturnsNull()
+    {
+        IProgress<SyncProgressTick> progress = Substitute.For<IProgress<SyncProgressTick>>();
+        InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(_cache, "key", progress);
+
+        InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(_cache, "key", progress).Should().BeNull();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ForFetch_DifferentKey_ReturnsProgress()
+    {
+        IProgress<SyncProgressTick> progress = Substitute.For<IProgress<SyncProgressTick>>();
+        InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(_cache, "episode-1", progress);
+
+        InitialLoadProgress.ForFetch(_cache, "episode-2", progress).Should().BeSameAs(progress);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/RedditThoughtProviderTests.cs b/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/RedditThoughtProviderTests.cs
index 85901c9..f537e86 100644
--- a/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/RedditThoughtProviderTests.cs
+++ b/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/RedditThoughtProviderTests.cs
@@ -611,6 +611,62 @@ public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_CreatedUtcAsString_DeserializesWithoutThrowin
         capturedThoughts.Single().CreatedAt.Should().Be(DateTimeOffset.FromUnixTimeSeconds(1401753700));
     }
 
+    // Regression: when every PullPush search fails (e.g. 429), the empty result used to go
+    // uncached, so each poll cycle redid the searches and re-ticked, flashing the loading bar.
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_AfterAllSearchesFail_ReportsNoTicksOnNextCall()
+    {
+        int requestCount = 0;
+        MockHttpMessageHandler handler = new(() =>
+        {
+            requestCount++;
+            return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.TooManyRequests);
+        });
+        HttpClient client = new(handler) { BaseAddress = new Uri("https://api.pullpush.io") };
+        RedditThoughtProvider provider = new(client, new OptionsSnapshotStub<RedditOptions>(_options), _cache,
+            Substitute.For<IReplyTreeBuilder>(), NoMappings(), NullLogger<RedditThoughtProvider>.Instance);
+
+        EpisodeContext mediaContext = new("Breaking Bad", DateTimeOffset.UtcNow, "Pilot", 1, 1);
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext);
+        int requestsAfterFirst = requestCount;
+
+        ConcurrentBag<SyncProgressTick> ticks = new();
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext, new CapturingProgress(ticks));
+
+        ticks.Should().BeEmpty("a cached failure does no work and must not arm the frontend loading bar");
+        requestCount.Should().Be(requestsAfterFirst);
+    }
+
+    // The loading bar is for the initial bulk load only: once a fetch has been attempted for an
+    // episode, a retry after the cached failure expires must run without reporting progress.
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_RetryAfterFailureExpires_ReportsNoTicks()
+    {
+        int requestCount = 0;
+        MockHttpMessageHandler handler = new(() =>
+        {
+            requestCount++;
+            return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.TooManyRequests);
+        });
+        HttpClient client = new(handler) { BaseAddress = new Uri("https://api.pullpush.io") };
+        RedditThoughtProvider provider = new(client, new OptionsSnapshotStub<RedditOptions>(_options), _cache,
+            Substitute.For<IReplyTreeBuilder>(), NoMappings(), NullLogger<RedditThoughtProvider>.Instance);
+
+        EpisodeContext mediaContext = new("Breaking Bad", DateTimeOffset.UtcNow, "Pilot", 1, 1);
+        ConcurrentBag<SyncProgressTick> initialTicks = new();
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext, new CapturingProgress(initialTicks));
+        initialTicks.Should().NotBeEmpty("the initial load reports progress");
+        int requestsAfterFirst = requestCount;
+
+        _cache.Remove(provider.GetCacheKey(mediaContext)); // simulate the failure entry's TTL expiring
+
+        ConcurrentBag<SyncProgressTick> retryTicks = new();
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext, new CapturingProgress(retryTicks));
+
+        requestCount.Should().BeGreaterThan(requestsAfterFirst, "the retry still hits the network");
+        retryTicks.Should().BeEmpty("retries are background work and must not arm the loading bar");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_NullProgress_DoesNotThrow()
     {
diff --git a/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/TraktThoughtProviderTests.cs b/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/TraktThoughtProviderTests.cs
index 6d6d896..b2770ab 100644
--- a/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/TraktThoughtProviderTests.cs
+++ b/tests/WatchBack.Infrastructure.Tests/TraktThoughtProviderTests.cs
@@ -287,6 +287,63 @@ public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_OnCacheHit_ReportsNoTicks()
         ticks.Should().BeEmpty("a cached cycle does no work and must not arm the frontend loading bar");
     }
 
+    // Regression: when Trakt rate-limits (429) slug resolution, the failed lookup used to
+    // go uncached, so every poll cycle retried it and re-ticked, flashing the loading bar.
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_AfterRateLimitedLookup_ReportsNoTicksOnNextCall()
+    {
+        EpisodeContext mediaContext = new("Love Is Blind", DateTimeOffset.UtcNow, "Pilot", 1, 1);
+        int requestCount = 0;
+        MockHttpMessageHandler handler = new(() =>
+        {
+            requestCount++;
+            return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.TooManyRequests);
+        });
+        HttpClient client = new(handler) { BaseAddress = new Uri("https://api.trakt.tv") };
+
+        TraktThoughtProvider provider = new(client, new OptionsSnapshotStub<TraktOptions>(_options), _cache,
+            Substitute.For<IReplyTreeBuilder>(), NullLogger<TraktThoughtProvider>.Instance);
+
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext);
+        int requestsAfterFirst = requestCount;
+
+        ConcurrentBag<SyncProgressTick> ticks = new();
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext, new CapturingProgress(ticks));
+
+        ticks.Should().BeEmpty("a cached failure does no work and must not arm the frontend loading bar");
+        requestCount.Should().Be(requestsAfterFirst);
+    }
+
+    // The loading bar is for the initial bulk load only: once a fetch has been attempted for an
+    // episode, a retry after the cached failure expires must run without reporting progress.
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_RetryAfterFailureExpires_ReportsNoTicks()
+    {
+        EpisodeContext mediaContext = new("Love Is Blind", DateTimeOffset.UtcNow, "Pilot", 1, 1);
+        int requestCount = 0;
+        MockHttpMessageHandler handler = new(() =>
+        {
+            requestCount++;
+            return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.TooManyRequests);
+        });
+        HttpClient client = new(handler) { BaseAddress = new Uri("https://api.trakt.tv") };
+        TraktThoughtProvider provider = new(client, new OptionsSnapshotStub<TraktOptions>(_options), _cache,
+            Substitute.For<IReplyTreeBuilder>(), NullLogger<TraktThoughtProvider>.Instance);
+
+        ConcurrentBag<SyncProgressTick> initialTicks = new();
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext, new CapturingProgress(initialTicks));
+        initialTicks.Should().ContainSingle("the initial load reports progress");
+        int requestsAfterFirst = requestCount;
+
+        _cache.Remove(provider.GetCacheKey(mediaContext)); // simulate the failure entry's TTL expiring
+
+        ConcurrentBag<SyncProgressTick> retryTicks = new();
+        await provider.GetThoughtsAsync(mediaContext, new CapturingProgress(retryTicks));
+
+        requestCount.Should().BeGreaterThan(requestsAfterFirst, "the retry still hits the network");
+        retryTicks.Should().BeEmpty("retries are background work and must not arm the loading bar");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public async Task GetThoughtsAsync_WhenNotConfigured_ReportsNoTicks()
     {