diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/generic.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/generic.py
index f6b984300d..bf689f5316 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/generic.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/generic.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ from .senateisvp import SenateISVPIE
 from .bliptv import BlipTVIE
 from .svt import SVTIE
 from .pornhub import PornHubIE
+from .vimeo import VimeoIE
 
 
 class GenericIE(InfoExtractor):
@@ -1089,18 +1090,9 @@ class GenericIE(InfoExtractor):
         if matches:
             return _playlist_from_matches(matches, ie='RtlNl')
 
-        # Look for embedded (iframe) Vimeo player
-        mobj = re.search(
-            r'<iframe[^>]+?src=(["\'])(?P<url>(?:https?:)?//player\.vimeo\.com/video/.+?)\1', webpage)
-        if mobj:
-            player_url = unescapeHTML(mobj.group('url'))
-            surl = smuggle_url(player_url, {'Referer': url})
-            return self.url_result(surl)
-        # Look for embedded (swf embed) Vimeo player
-        mobj = re.search(
-            r'<embed[^>]+?src="((?:https?:)?//(?:www\.)?vimeo\.com/moogaloop\.swf.+?)"', webpage)
-        if mobj:
-            return self.url_result(mobj.group(1))
+        vimeo_url = VimeoIE._extract_vimeo_url(url, webpage)
+        if vimeo_url is not None:
+            return self.url_result(vimeo_url)
 
         # Look for embedded YouTube player
         matches = re.findall(r'''(?x)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py
index f300c7ca40..cae90205d3 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     unified_strdate,
     unsmuggle_url,
     urlencode_postdata,
+    unescapeHTML,
 )
 
 
@@ -173,6 +174,21 @@ class VimeoIE(VimeoBaseInfoExtractor):
         },
     ]
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _extract_vimeo_url(url, webpage):
+        # Look for embedded (iframe) Vimeo player
+        mobj = re.search(
+            r'<iframe[^>]+?src=(["\'])(?P<url>(?:https?:)?//player\.vimeo\.com/video/.+?)\1', webpage)
+        if mobj:
+            player_url = unescapeHTML(mobj.group('url'))
+            surl = smuggle_url(player_url, {'Referer': url})
+            return surl
+        # Look for embedded (swf embed) Vimeo player
+        mobj = re.search(
+            r'<embed[^>]+?src="((?:https?:)?//(?:www\.)?vimeo\.com/moogaloop\.swf.+?)"', webpage)
+        if mobj:
+            return mobj.group(1)
+
     def _verify_video_password(self, url, video_id, webpage):
         password = self._downloader.params.get('videopassword', None)
         if password is None: