diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 68279e0fd..08917b5d6 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -995,13 +995,13 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 }
 
                 reason = self._match_entry(entry, incomplete=True)
-                if reason.endswith('has already been recorded in archive') and self.params.get('break_on_existing'):
-                    self.to_screen('[download] stopping downloading because ' + reason)
-                    break
-
-                elif reason is not None:
-                    self.to_screen('[download] ' + reason)
-                    continue
+                if reason is not None:
+                    if reason.endswith('has already been recorded in the archive') and self.params.get('break_on_existing'):
+                        print('[download] tried downloading a file that\'s already in the archive, stopping since --break-on-existing is set.')
+                        break
+                    else:
+                        self.to_screen('[download] ' + reason)
+                        continue
 
                 entry_result = self.process_ie_result(entry,
                                                       download=download,
diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index ba435ea42..87fbe1667 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -393,6 +393,7 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
         'youtube_print_sig_code': opts.youtube_print_sig_code,
         'age_limit': opts.age_limit,
         'download_archive': download_archive_fn,
+        'break_on_existing': opts.break_on_existing,
         'cookiefile': opts.cookiefile,
         'nocheckcertificate': opts.no_check_certificate,
         'prefer_insecure': opts.prefer_insecure,