diff --git a/docs/architecture/player-controls-contract.md b/docs/architecture/player-controls-contract.md
index 7686eee6c..055121a8c 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/player-controls-contract.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/player-controls-contract.md
@@ -732,7 +732,10 @@ neither opens nor arms the hint: the zone re-arms on the next real
 scrim and below the panel while open, preserving the pointer target until
 the opening animation covers it. A delayed fullscreen paint therefore cannot
 turn a stationary edge hover into a synthetic mouse-leave that closes the
-panel. The zone stops above the controls bar (`bottom: max(25%, 140px)`) so
+panel. The open card is inset from the edge, so the zone's left strip stays
+exposed beside it: hovering there still counts as inside (a hover-opened
+panel leaves the pointer resting in that strip), but a completed primary
+press there closes the panel as the scrim would. The zone stops above the controls bar (`bottom: max(25%, 140px)`) so
 the leftmost transport button never loses a click or tap to it. The `C` key
 opens it too and focuses the search field — or, for a host without one, the
 panel itself (`tabindex="-1"`), so the next Tab reaches its first control
diff --git a/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.spec.ts b/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.spec.ts
index dbeb58e32..53f427d4d 100644
--- a/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.spec.ts
@@ -547,6 +547,17 @@ describe('FullscreenChannelPanelComponent', () => {
         expect(query('host-list')?.textContent?.trim()).toBe('');
     });
 
+    it('closes on a click in the edge gutter the inset card leaves exposed', () => {
+        setFullscreen(stage);
+        openByHover();
+        hotZone()?.dispatchEvent(pointerEvent('pointerdown'));
+        hotZone()?.dispatchEvent(pointerEvent('pointerup'));
+        fixture.detectChanges();
+
+        expect(isOpen()).toBe(false);
+        expect(query('host-list')).not.toBeNull();
+    });
+
     it('closes on the scrim but keeps the list mounted for the next opening', () => {
         setFullscreen(stage);
         openByHover();
diff --git a/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.ts b/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.ts
index d69d2332a..07ebbf87b 100644
--- a/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.ts
+++ b/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-channel-panel/fullscreen-channel-panel.component.ts
@@ -230,6 +230,8 @@ export class FullscreenChannelPanelComponent implements OnDestroy {
      * pointerup, not pointerdown: the hot zone must still be the click
      * target when the press completes, so the click that follows dies on it
      * instead of reaching the video's click-to-pause.
+     * While the panel is open the zone is still exposed in the card's left
+     * inset, above the scrim, so a click there dismisses like the scrim does.
      */
     onHotZonePointerDown(event: PointerEvent): void {
         this.hotZonePressPointerId =
@@ -242,6 +244,10 @@ export class FullscreenChannelPanelComponent implements OnDestroy {
         if (pressed === null || pressed !== event.pointerId) {
             return;
         }
+        if (this.state.open()) {
+            this.state.hide();
+            return;
+        }
         this.state.show('pointer');
     }
 
diff --git a/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-episode-panel/fullscreen-episode-panel.component.scss b/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-episode-panel/fullscreen-episode-panel.component.scss
index d6fc0c771..ba06cf187 100644
--- a/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-episode-panel/fullscreen-episode-panel.component.scss
+++ b/libs/ui/playback/src/lib/fullscreen-episode-panel/fullscreen-episode-panel.component.scss
@@ -167,6 +167,12 @@
 .episode-panel__item--playing {
     background: rgba(92, 214, 255, 0.14);
     cursor: default;
+
+    // Keep the cue while the row is hovered or focused.
+    &:hover,
+    &:focus-visible {
+        background: rgba(92, 214, 255, 0.2);
+    }
 }
 
 // Watched rows step back so the unwatched ones read as "what's left".