diff --git a/wcs/publisher.py b/wcs/publisher.py
index 70113b326..4030c4836 100644
--- a/wcs/publisher.py
+++ b/wcs/publisher.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import traceback
 import zipfile
 
 from django.utils import six
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.six.moves import cPickle
 
 from .Defaults import *
@@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ class WcsPublisher(StubWcsPublisher):
                 if f == 'config.pck':
                     d = cPickle.loads(data)
                 else:
-                    d = json.loads(data, object_hook=_decode_dict)
+                    d = json.loads(force_text(data), object_hook=_decode_dict)
                 if 'sp' in self.cfg:
                     current_sp = self.cfg['sp']
                 else: