diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/mediathekviewweb.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/mediathekviewweb.py
index bd0c8e758..303655438 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/mediathekviewweb.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/mediathekviewweb.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 # coding=utf-8
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 import datetime
 import itertools
 import json