diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 840cb7116..c558bcb3c 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -14,3 +14,6 @@ export const ADYEN_LIVE_CLIENT_KEY = 'live_BQDOFBYTGZB3XKF62GBYSLPUJ4YW2TPL';
 
 // how often the live channel schedule is refetched in ms
 export const LIVE_CHANNELS_REFETCH_INTERVAL = 15 * 60_000;
+
+// OTT shared player
+export const DEFAULT_PLAYER_ID: string = 'M4qoGvUk';
diff --git a/src/containers/PlayerContainer/PlayerContainer.tsx b/src/containers/PlayerContainer/PlayerContainer.tsx
index 7a8df3739..c3a7710ed 100644
--- a/src/containers/PlayerContainer/PlayerContainer.tsx
+++ b/src/containers/PlayerContainer/PlayerContainer.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { useConfigStore } from '#src/stores/ConfigStore';
 import Player from '#components/Player/Player';
 import type { JWPlayer } from '#types/jwplayer';
 import { useWatchHistoryStore } from '#src/stores/WatchHistoryStore';
-import { VideoProgressMinMax } from '#src/config';
+import { DEFAULT_PLAYER_ID, VideoProgressMinMax } from '#src/config';
 
 type Props = {
   item: PlaylistItem;
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ const PlayerContainer: React.FC<Props> = ({
   liveStartDateTime,
   autostart,
 }: Props) => {
-  const { player, features } = useConfigStore((s) => s.config);
+  const { features } = useConfigStore((s) => s.config);
   const continueWatchingList = features?.continueWatchingList;
   const watchHistoryEnabled = !!continueWatchingList;
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ const PlayerContainer: React.FC<Props> = ({
 
   return (
     <Player
-      playerId={player}
+      playerId={DEFAULT_PLAYER_ID}
       feedId={feedId}
       item={item}
       onReady={handleReady}
diff --git a/src/utils/configLoad.ts b/src/utils/configLoad.ts
index bbae4046f..6d18f852a 100644
--- a/src/utils/configLoad.ts
+++ b/src/utils/configLoad.ts
@@ -84,9 +84,6 @@ export async function loadAndValidateConfig(configSource: string | undefined) {
   let config = await loadConfig(configSource);
   config.assets = config.assets || {};
 
-  //set default value for the OTT shared player
-  config.player = 'M4qoGvUk';
-
   // make sure the banner always defaults to the JWP banner when not defined in the config
   if (!config.assets.banner) {
     config.assets.banner = defaultConfig.assets.banner;