diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 76fc394bc..2bc02f8ca 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -277,6 +277,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         self._num_downloads = 0
         self._screen_file = [sys.stdout, sys.stderr][params.get('logtostderr', False)]
         self._err_file = sys.stderr
+        self._openers_pool = {}
         self.params = params
         self.cache = Cache(self)
 
@@ -320,7 +321,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         if '%(stitle)s' in self.params.get('outtmpl', ''):
             self.report_warning('%(stitle)s is deprecated. Use the %(title)s and the --restrict-filenames flag(which also secures %(uploader)s et al) instead.')
 
-        self._setup_opener()
+        self._setup_openers()
 
         if auto_init:
             self.print_debug_header()
@@ -1729,12 +1730,16 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                     'See https://yt-dl.org/update if you need help updating.' %
                     latest_version)
 
-    def _setup_opener(self):
+    def _setup_openers(self):
+        self._setup_single_opener('default', self.params.get('proxy'))
+        self._setup_single_opener('alternative', self.params.get('alternative_proxy'))
+        self.use_opener('default')
+
+    def _setup_single_opener(self, opener_name, opts_proxy):
         timeout_val = self.params.get('socket_timeout')
         self._socket_timeout = 600 if timeout_val is None else float(timeout_val)
 
         opts_cookiefile = self.params.get('cookiefile')
-        opts_proxy = self.params.get('proxy')
 
         if opts_cookiefile is None:
             self.cookiejar = compat_cookiejar.CookieJar()
@@ -1767,7 +1772,13 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         # cases where our custom HTTP handler doesn't come into play
         # (See https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues/1309 for details)
         opener.addheaders = []
-        self._opener = opener
+        self._openers_pool[opener_name] = opener
+
+    def use_opener(self, opener_name):
+        if opener_name in self._openers_pool:
+            self._opener = self._openers_pool[opener_name]
+        else:
+            raise Exception('Invalid opener name ' + opener_name)
 
     def encode(self, s):
         if isinstance(s, bytes):
diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index 5ce201800..781033a9a 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -327,6 +327,7 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
         'nocheckcertificate': opts.no_check_certificate,
         'prefer_insecure': opts.prefer_insecure,
         'proxy': opts.proxy,
+        'alternative_proxy': opts.alternative_proxy,
         'socket_timeout': opts.socket_timeout,
         'bidi_workaround': opts.bidi_workaround,
         'debug_printtraffic': opts.debug_printtraffic,
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py
index 7977fa8d0..65f29de8a 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py
@@ -1053,6 +1053,15 @@ class InfoExtractor(object):
     def _get_automatic_captions(self, *args, **kwargs):
         raise NotImplementedError("This method must be implemented by subclasses")
 
+    def _multiple_opener_supported(self):
+        return hasattr(self._downloader, 'use_opener')
+
+    def _use_opener(self, opener_name):
+        if self._multiple_opener_supported():
+            self._downloader.use_opener(opener_name)
+        else:
+            raise Exception('Multiple opener not supported')
+
 
 class SearchInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
     """
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/letv.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/letv.py
index 583ce35b9..c3886125d 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/letv.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/letv.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ class LetvIE(InfoExtractor):
         }
     }, {
         'url': 'http://www.letv.com/ptv/vplay/1415246.html',
+        'md5': 'b4b0a9248ecf34d80ee52a2609627a88',
         'info_dict': {
             'id': '1415246',
             'ext': 'mp4',
@@ -42,9 +43,23 @@ class LetvIE(InfoExtractor):
         'expected_warnings': [
             'publish time'
         ]
+    }, {
+        # This video is available only in Mainland China, thus a proxy is needed
+        'url': 'http://www.letv.com/ptv/vplay/1118082.html',
+        'md5': 'f80936fbe20fb2f58648e81386ff7927',
+        'info_dict': {
+            'id': '1118082',
+            'ext': 'mp4',
+            'title': '与龙共舞 完整版',
+            'description': 'md5:7506a5eeb1722bb9d4068f85024e3986',
+        },
+        'expected_warnings': [
+            'publish time'
+        ],
+        'params': {
+            'alternative_proxy': 'proxy.uku.im:8888'
+        }
     }]
-    # http://www.letv.com/ptv/vplay/1118082.html
-    # This video is available only in Mainland China
 
     @staticmethod
     def urshift(val, n):
@@ -76,10 +91,17 @@ class LetvIE(InfoExtractor):
             'tkey': self.calc_time_key(int(time.time())),
             'domain': 'www.letv.com'
         }
+
+        if self._multiple_opener_supported():
+            self._use_opener('alternative')
+
         play_json = self._download_json(
             'http://api.letv.com/mms/out/video/playJson?' + compat_urllib_parse.urlencode(params),
             media_id, 'playJson data')
 
+        if self._multiple_opener_supported():
+            self._use_opener('default')
+
         # Check for errors
         playstatus = play_json['playstatus']
         if playstatus['status'] == 0:
diff --git a/youtube_dl/options.py b/youtube_dl/options.py
index 886ce9613..8cfa7ec7c 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/options.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/options.py
@@ -176,6 +176,11 @@ def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
         '--proxy', dest='proxy',
         default=None, metavar='URL',
         help='Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS proxy. Pass in an empty string (--proxy "") for direct connection')
+    network.add_option(
+        '--alternative-proxy', dest='alternative_proxy',
+        default=None, metavar='URL',
+        help='Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS address as the alternative proxy. Pass in an empty string (--alternative-proxy "") for direct connection'
+    )
     network.add_option(
         '--socket-timeout',
         dest='socket_timeout', type=float, default=None, metavar='SECONDS',