diff --git a/lib/screens/video_player/parts/lifecycle.dart b/lib/screens/video_player/parts/lifecycle.dart
index 868eea52..658daea0 100644
--- a/lib/screens/video_player/parts/lifecycle.dart
+++ b/lib/screens/video_player/parts/lifecycle.dart
@@ -182,14 +182,13 @@ extension _VideoPlayerLifecycleMethods on VideoPlayerScreenState {
   /// Arm the grace timer that releases the native AV pipeline if the app
   /// stays backgrounded (Android TV only). Returns whether it was armed.
   bool _armTvBackgroundPlayerSuspendTimer() {
-    if (!Platform.isAndroid || !PlatformDetector.isTV()) return false;
-    if (_playerSuspendedForTvBackground) return false;
-    if (widget.isLive) {
-      // Restore re-tunes via _switchLiveChannel(0); don't suspend a live
-      // session the zap flow can't rebuild.
-      final channels = widget.live?.channels;
-      if (channels == null || channels.isEmpty) return false;
-      if (_live.channelIndex < 0 || _live.channelIndex >= channels.length) return false;
+    if (!shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground(
+      isAndroid: Platform.isAndroid,
+      isTv: PlatformDetector.isTV(),
+      isLive: widget.isLive,
+      alreadySuspended: _playerSuspendedForTvBackground,
+    )) {
+      return false;
     }
     _tvBackgroundPlayerSuspendTimer?.cancel();
     _tvBackgroundPlayerSuspendTimer = Timer(VideoPlayerScreenState._tvBackgroundPlayerSuspendGrace, () {
@@ -215,6 +214,9 @@ extension _VideoPlayerLifecycleMethods on VideoPlayerScreenState {
   Future<void> _suspendPlayerForTvBackground() async {
     final currentPlayer = player;
     if (!mounted || currentPlayer == null || !_isPlayerInitialized) return;
+    // A live stream's tuned session is also its time-shift buffer. Stopping
+    // it would force a re-tune at the live edge and discard pause state.
+    if (widget.isLive) return;
     if (_playerSuspendedForTvBackground || _shouldSkipForPip) return;
     final lifecycleState = WidgetsBinding.instance.lifecycleState;
     if (lifecycleState == AppLifecycleState.resumed || lifecycleState == AppLifecycleState.inactive) return;
@@ -248,9 +250,9 @@ extension _VideoPlayerLifecycleMethods on VideoPlayerScreenState {
   /// a fresh playback decision, since the suspended stream URL may have
   /// expired server-side — and comes back paused; the caller's
   /// [_restoreMediaControlsAfterResume] then resumes it (with
-  /// rewind-on-resume) exactly like a plain background pause. Live re-tunes
-  /// the current channel through the zap flow, which starts playing at the
-  /// live edge.
+  /// rewind-on-resume) exactly like a plain background pause. Live sessions
+  /// never enter this flow because their tuned session and capture-buffer
+  /// position must remain intact across backgrounding.
   Future<void> _restorePlayerAfterTvBackgroundSuspend() async {
     _playerSuspendedForTvBackground = false;
     final resumePosition = _tvBackgroundSuspendPosition;
@@ -265,12 +267,6 @@ extension _VideoPlayerLifecycleMethods on VideoPlayerScreenState {
     final currentPlayer = player;
     if (!mounted || currentPlayer == null || !_isPlayerInitialized) return;
 
-    if (widget.isLive) {
-      _recordLifecycleState('resumed', action: 'tv_background_suspend_retune');
-      await _switchLiveChannel(0);
-      return;
-    }
-
     _recordLifecycleState('resumed', action: 'tv_background_suspend_reload');
     final reloaded = await _reloadMediaInPlace(
       metadata: _currentMetadata,
diff --git a/lib/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy.dart b/lib/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy.dart
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bbbad314
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+/// Whether backgrounding may release the native video pipeline after its
+/// grace period.
+///
+/// Live TV deliberately stays paused with its player open: the tuned session
+/// owns the capture buffer, so stopping it would lose both the time-shift
+/// position and the user's paused/playing intent when playback is rebuilt.
+bool shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground({
+  required bool isAndroid,
+  required bool isTv,
+  required bool isLive,
+  required bool alreadySuspended,
+}) {
+  return isAndroid && isTv && !isLive && !alreadySuspended;
+}
diff --git a/lib/screens/video_player_screen.dart b/lib/screens/video_player_screen.dart
index e5ee24ed..4060c136 100644
--- a/lib/screens/video_player_screen.dart
+++ b/lib/screens/video_player_screen.dart
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ import 'video_player/completion_latch.dart';
 import 'video_player/frame_rate_matcher.dart';
 import 'video_player/live_tv_session_args.dart';
 import 'video_player/live_tv_session_state.dart';
+import 'video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy.dart';
 import 'video_player/widgets/player_prompt_overlays.dart';
 import '../widgets/overlay_sheet.dart';
 import '../widgets/video_controls/player_chrome_controller.dart';
diff --git a/test/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy_test.dart b/test/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..33de6f3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';
+import 'package:plezy/screens/video_player/tv_background_suspend_policy.dart';
+
+void main() {
+  test('Android TV VOD releases the player after the background grace period', () {
+    expect(
+      shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground(isAndroid: true, isTv: true, isLive: false, alreadySuspended: false),
+      isTrue,
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('live TV retains its tuned session and time-shift state', () {
+    expect(
+      shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground(isAndroid: true, isTv: true, isLive: true, alreadySuspended: false),
+      isFalse,
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('non-Android and non-TV players do not use the TV suspend flow', () {
+    expect(
+      shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground(isAndroid: false, isTv: true, isLive: false, alreadySuspended: false),
+      isFalse,
+    );
+    expect(
+      shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground(isAndroid: true, isTv: false, isLive: false, alreadySuspended: false),
+      isFalse,
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('an already suspended player is not scheduled again', () {
+    expect(
+      shouldSuspendPlayerForTvBackground(isAndroid: true, isTv: true, isLive: false, alreadySuspended: true),
+      isFalse,
+    );
+  });
+}