diff --git a/twitchWatcher.go b/twitchWatcher.go
index c1657d6..53ecb00 100644
--- a/twitchWatcher.go
+++ b/twitchWatcher.go
@@ -90,6 +90,10 @@ func (r *twitchWatcher) updateChannelFromAPI(channel string, sendUpdate bool) er
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	if r.ChannelStatus[channel] == nil {
+		r.ChannelStatus[channel] = &status
+	}
+
 	if r.ChannelStatus[channel].Category != status.Category {
 		log.WithFields(log.Fields{
 			"channel":  channel,