diff --git a/fetch.py b/fetch.py
index 285015e90f..c4b605c665 100755
--- a/fetch.py
+++ b/fetch.py
@@ -267,14 +267,14 @@ def run_config_fetch(config, props, aliased=False):
   cmd = [sys.executable, config_path + '.py', 'fetch'] + props
   result = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0]
 
-  spec = json.loads(result)
+  spec = json.loads(result.decode("utf-8"))
   if 'alias' in spec:
     assert not aliased
     return run_config_fetch(
         spec['alias']['config'], spec['alias']['props'] + props, aliased=True)
   cmd = [sys.executable, config_path + '.py', 'root']
   result = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).communicate()[0]
-  root = json.loads(result)
+  root = json.loads(result.decode("utf-8"))
   return spec, root