diff --git a/backend/routers/channels.py b/backend/routers/channels.py
index 95b734c..44e0749 100644
--- a/backend/routers/channels.py
+++ b/backend/routers/channels.py
@@ -680,7 +680,20 @@ def _fetch_popular_task(channel_id: int, youtube_channel_id: str, channel_name:
     from ..database import SessionLocal
     from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
 
+    task_id = f"popular-{channel_id}"
+    label = f"Popular fetch — {channel_name}" if channel_name else "Popular fetch"
+
     # Phase 1 — flat-playlist: crawl all channel videos quickly
+    with _tasks_lock:
+        _tasks[task_id] = {
+            "id": task_id,
+            "label": label,
+            "phase": "Crawling channel…",
+            "total": 0,
+            "done": 0,
+            "started_at": datetime.utcnow().isoformat(),
+        }
+
     if youtube_channel_id.startswith("@"):
         url = f"https://www.youtube.com/{youtube_channel_id}/videos"
     else:
@@ -750,17 +763,15 @@ def _fetch_popular_task(channel_id: int, youtube_channel_id: str, channel_name:
         db.close()
 
     if not video_ids:
+        with _tasks_lock:
+            _tasks.pop(task_id, None)
         return
 
-    task_id = f"popular-{channel_id}"
     with _tasks_lock:
-        _tasks[task_id] = {
-            "id": task_id,
-            "label": f"Popular fetch — {channel_name}" if channel_name else "Popular fetch",
-            "total": len(video_ids),
-            "done": 0,
-            "started_at": datetime.utcnow().isoformat(),
-        }
+        if task_id in _tasks:
+            _tasks[task_id]["phase"] = "Enriching view counts…"
+            _tasks[task_id]["total"] = len(video_ids)
+            _tasks[task_id]["done"] = 0
 
     results = {}
     try:
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Layout.jsx b/frontend/src/components/Layout.jsx
index 97d6ed2..fda6dfd 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Layout.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Layout.jsx
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { Outlet, NavLink, Link, useLocation } from "react-router-dom";
 import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { useAuth } from "../hooks/useAuth";
 import SearchBar from "./SearchBar";
-import { getDownloads, getChannels } from "../api";
+import { getDownloads, getChannels, getActiveTasks } from "../api";
 
 function BottomNav({ newCount }) {
   const tabs = [
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ function BottomNav({ newCount }) {
 }
 
 function DownloadIndicator() {
-  const { data } = useQuery({
+  const { data: downloads } = useQuery({
     queryKey: ["downloads"],
     queryFn: () => getDownloads().then((r) => r.data),
     refetchInterval: (query) => {
@@ -84,27 +84,48 @@ function DownloadIndicator() {
     },
   });
 
-  const active = (data ?? []).filter(
+  const { data: tasks = [] } = useQuery({
+    queryKey: ["active-tasks"],
+    queryFn: () => getActiveTasks().then((r) => r.data),
+    refetchInterval: (query) => (query.state.data?.length > 0 ? 2000 : 10_000),
+  });
+
+  const activeDownloads = (downloads ?? []).filter(
     (d) => d.status === "pending" || d.status === "downloading"
   );
-  if (!active.length) return null;
 
-  const top = active[0];
-  const pct = top.progress_percent ?? 0;
+  if (!activeDownloads.length && !tasks.length) return null;
+
+  const totalActive = activeDownloads.length + tasks.length;
+
+  // Show download progress if there are active downloads, otherwise show task phase
+  let label;
+  if (activeDownloads.length) {
+    const pct = activeDownloads[0].progress_percent ?? 0;
+    label = <span className="font-mono tabular-nums text-[11px]">{pct.toFixed(0)}%</span>;
+  } else {
+    const task = tasks[0];
+    const pct = task.total > 0 ? Math.round((task.done / task.total) * 100) : null;
+    label = (
+      <span className="text-[11px] max-w-[80px] truncate hidden sm:inline">
+        {pct !== null ? `${pct}%` : task.phase || "…"}
+      </span>
+    );
+  }
 
   return (
     <Link
       to="/downloads"
       className="flex items-center gap-1.5 px-2 py-1 rounded-lg bg-zinc-800 hover:bg-zinc-700 transition-colors text-xs text-zinc-300 shrink-0"
-      title={`${active.length} download${active.length > 1 ? "s" : ""} in progress`}
+      title={`${totalActive} task${totalActive > 1 ? "s" : ""} in progress`}
     >
       <svg className="w-3 h-3 animate-spin text-zinc-400 shrink-0" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
         <circle className="opacity-20" cx="12" cy="12" r="10" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="3" />
         <path className="opacity-80" fill="currentColor" d="M4 12a8 8 0 018-8v4a4 4 0 00-4 4H4z" />
       </svg>
-      <span className="font-mono tabular-nums text-[11px]">{pct.toFixed(0)}%</span>
-      {active.length > 1 && (
-        <span className="hidden sm:inline text-zinc-500">+{active.length - 1}</span>
+      {label}
+      {totalActive > 1 && (
+        <span className="hidden sm:inline text-zinc-500">+{totalActive - 1}</span>
       )}
     </Link>
   );
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/Downloads.jsx b/frontend/src/pages/Downloads.jsx
index 6e66777..084eef9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/Downloads.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/Downloads.jsx
@@ -141,9 +141,12 @@ export default function DownloadsPage() {
               const pct = task.total > 0 ? (task.done / task.total) * 100 : 0;
               return (
                 <div key={task.id} className="bg-zinc-900 rounded-xl p-4">
+                  <p className="text-sm font-medium text-zinc-100 mb-0.5">{task.label}</p>
                   <div className="flex items-center justify-between mb-1">
-                    <p className="text-sm font-medium text-zinc-100">{task.label}</p>
-                    <span className="text-xs text-zinc-400 tabular-nums">{task.done}/{task.total}</span>
+                    <span className="text-xs text-zinc-400">{task.phase || "Running…"}</span>
+                    {task.total > 0 && (
+                      <span className="text-xs text-zinc-400 tabular-nums">{task.done}/{task.total}</span>
+                    )}
                   </div>
                   <ProgressBar pct={pct} />
                 </div>