diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/CMakeLists.txt b/Libraries/LibMedia/CMakeLists.txt
index f47c6205495..6d9b4c76e6d 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ set(SOURCES
     Containers/Matroska/Reader.cpp
     IncrementallyPopulatedStream.cpp
     PlaybackManager.cpp
+    PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.cpp
     PlaybackStates/PausedStateHandler.cpp
     PlaybackStates/PlaybackStateHandler.cpp
     PlaybackStates/ResumingStateHandler.cpp
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.cpp b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.cpp
index 602df7d1f80..b2ac80c3b85 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.cpp
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #include <LibMedia/Containers/Matroska/MatroskaDemuxer.h>
 #include <LibMedia/Demuxer.h>
 #include <LibMedia/FFmpeg/FFmpegDemuxer.h>
-#include <LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PausedStateHandler.h>
+#include <LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.h>
 #include <LibMedia/Providers/AudioDataProvider.h>
 #include <LibMedia/Providers/GenericTimeProvider.h>
 #include <LibMedia/Providers/VideoDataProvider.h>
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ DecoderErrorOr<void> PlaybackManager::prepare_playback_from_demuxer(WeakPlayback
 NonnullOwnPtr<PlaybackManager> PlaybackManager::create()
 {
     auto playback_manager = adopt_own(*new (nothrow) PlaybackManager());
-    playback_manager->m_handler = make<PausedStateHandler>(*playback_manager, RESUMING_SUSPEND_TIMEOUT_MS);
+    playback_manager->m_handler = make<StartingStateHandler>(*playback_manager);
     playback_manager->m_handler->on_enter();
     return playback_manager;
 }
@@ -346,12 +346,12 @@ void PlaybackManager::enable_an_audio_track(Track const& track)
 {
     auto& track_data = get_audio_data_for_track(track);
     VERIFY(!track_data.enabled);
+    track_data.enabled = true;
     if (m_audio_sink) {
         VERIFY(m_audio_sink->provider(track) == nullptr);
         m_audio_sink->set_provider(track, track_data.provider);
+        m_tracks_still_buffering.set(track);
     }
-    track_data.enabled = true;
-    m_tracks_still_buffering.set(track);
     m_handler->on_track_enabled(track);
 }
 
@@ -384,6 +384,11 @@ bool PlaybackManager::track_is_enabled(Track const& track) const
     return true;
 }
 
+void PlaybackManager::start()
+{
+    m_handler->start();
+}
+
 void PlaybackManager::play()
 {
     m_handler->play();
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.h b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.h
index 2025c619c65..f81b3f0cafa 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.h
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackManager.h
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ public:
 
     bool track_is_enabled(Track const&) const;
 
+    void start();
     void play();
     void pause();
     void seek(AK::Duration timestamp, SeekMode);
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/AvailableData.h b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/AvailableData.h
index b4c6cb39bbb..7523318498a 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/AvailableData.h
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/AvailableData.h
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 namespace Media {
 
 enum class AvailableData : u8 {
+    None,
     Current,
     Future,
 };
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/Forward.h b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/Forward.h
index 57c39396d3e..e1636d8261b 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/Forward.h
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/Forward.h
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2025, Gregory Bertilson <zaggy1024@gmail.com>
+ * Copyright (c) 2025-present, the Ladybird developers.
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause
  */
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackStateHandler.h>
 
 #define ENUMERATE_PLAYBACK_STATE_HANDLERS(X) \
+    X(StartingStateHandler)                  \
     X(BufferingStateHandler)                 \
     X(PlaybackStateHandler)                  \
     X(PlayingStateHandler)                   \
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackState.h b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackState.h
index 6e1602b6516..3cfefc36777 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackState.h
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackState.h
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2025, Gregory Bertilson <gregory@ladybird.org>
+ * Copyright (c) 2025-2026, Gregory Bertilson <gregory@ladybird.org>
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause
  */
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 namespace Media {
 
 enum class PlaybackState : u8 {
+    Starting,
     Buffering,
     Playing,
     Paused,
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackStateHandler.h b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackStateHandler.h
index 0eecb6e129f..7386617fcb0 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackStateHandler.h
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/PlaybackStateHandler.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ public:
     virtual void on_enter() = 0;
     virtual void on_exit() = 0;
 
+    virtual void start() { }
     virtual void play() = 0;
     virtual void pause() = 0;
     virtual void seek(AK::Duration timestamp, SeekMode);
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.cpp b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..957b41bbbf1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2026-present, the Ladybird developers.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause
+ */
+
+#include "StartingStateHandler.h"
+
+#include <LibMedia/PlaybackManager.h>
+#include <LibMedia/PlaybackStates/BufferingStateHandler.h>
+
+namespace Media {
+
+void StartingStateHandler::start()
+{
+    m_started = true;
+
+    if (manager().m_tracks_still_buffering.is_empty())
+        resume();
+}
+
+void StartingStateHandler::exit_buffering()
+{
+    if (m_started)
+        resume();
+}
+
+}
diff --git a/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.h b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..230b7e3801b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Libraries/LibMedia/PlaybackStates/StartingStateHandler.h
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2026-present, the Ladybird developers.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <LibMedia/PlaybackStates/ResumingStateHandler.h>
+
+namespace Media {
+
+class StartingStateHandler final : public ResumingStateHandler {
+public:
+    StartingStateHandler(PlaybackManager& manager)
+        : ResumingStateHandler(manager, false)
+    {
+    }
+    virtual ~StartingStateHandler() override = default;
+
+    virtual void start() override;
+
+    virtual PlaybackState state() override
+    {
+        return PlaybackState::Starting;
+    }
+    virtual AvailableData available_data() override
+    {
+        return AvailableData::None;
+    }
+
+    virtual void enter_buffering() override { }
+    virtual void exit_buffering() override;
+
+private:
+    bool m_started { false };
+};
+
+}
diff --git a/Libraries/LibWeb/HTML/HTMLMediaElement.cpp b/Libraries/LibWeb/HTML/HTMLMediaElement.cpp
index 6be7a496b5e..b1f3110ff1d 100644
--- a/Libraries/LibWeb/HTML/HTMLMediaElement.cpp
+++ b/Libraries/LibWeb/HTML/HTMLMediaElement.cpp
@@ -1743,7 +1743,9 @@ void HTMLMediaElement::on_metadata_parsed()
         });
     }
 
-    // AD-HOC: If we've already got buffered data, we need to upgrade the readyState further than HAVE_METADATA.
+    // AD-HOC: Now that we've enabled one of each available track type, the playback manager can be started. If this
+    //         causes the playback manager to exit the initial state, the ready state should change.
+    m_playback_manager->start();
     update_ready_state();
 }
 
@@ -2127,7 +2129,8 @@ void HTMLMediaElement::update_ready_state()
     auto current_range = ranges.range_at_or_after(current_time);
     auto available_data = m_playback_manager->available_data();
 
-    if (available_data == Media::AvailableData::Current && !current_range.has_value()) {
+    if (available_data == Media::AvailableData::None
+        || (available_data == Media::AvailableData::Current && !current_range.has_value())) {
         // 1. Set the HTMLMediaElement's readyState attribute to HAVE_METADATA.
         set_ready_state(ReadyState::HaveMetadata);
         // 2. Abort these steps.
diff --git a/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-after-decode-error.txt b/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-after-decode-error.txt
index bf994e7b403..00882314b67 100644
--- a/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-after-decode-error.txt
+++ b/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-after-decode-error.txt
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
 loadstart: readyState=0
-durationchange: readyState=4 duration=0
-loadedmetadata: readyState=4
-loadeddata: readyState=4
-canplay: readyState=4
-canplaythrough: readyState=4
-error: readyState=4 code=3
+durationchange: readyState=1 duration=0
+loadedmetadata: readyState=1
+error: readyState=1 code=3
 abort: readyState=0
 emptied: readyState=0
 loadstart: readyState=0
-durationchange: readyState=4 duration=12.043
-loadedmetadata: readyState=4
+durationchange: readyState=1 duration=12.043
+loadedmetadata: readyState=1
 loadeddata: readyState=4
 canplay: readyState=4
 canplaythrough: readyState=4
diff --git a/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-during-error.txt b/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-during-error.txt
index 078189ee60e..165a469e46e 100644
--- a/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-during-error.txt
+++ b/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-load-during-error.txt
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ Events:
   error handler: src setter returned: readyState=0
   emptied: readyState=0
   loadstart: readyState=0
-  durationchange: readyState=4 duration=12.043
-  loadedmetadata: readyState=4
+  durationchange: readyState=1 duration=12.043
+  loadedmetadata: readyState=1
   loadeddata: readyState=4
   canplay: readyState=4
   canplaythrough: readyState=4
diff --git a/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-readyState-progression.txt b/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-readyState-progression.txt
index c34064130dd..d5f7f42fab1 100644
--- a/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-readyState-progression.txt
+++ b/Tests/LibWeb/Text/expected/HTML/HTMLMediaElement-readyState-progression.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 loadstart: readyState=0
-durationchange: readyState=4 duration=12.043
-loadedmetadata: readyState=4
+durationchange: readyState=1 duration=12.043
+loadedmetadata: readyState=1
 loadeddata: readyState=4
 canplay: readyState=4
 canplaythrough: readyState=4