diff --git a/tests/test_mediaworker.py b/tests/test_mediaworker.py
index 5eb7b75104ce5b3510eb017b7a70d1db5069fb5b..700b9c53a330a01b980a791b63f6152e9faa74bb 100755
--- a/tests/test_mediaworker.py
+++ b/tests/test_mediaworker.py
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def check_celerity_connectivity(ip):
     cmd = "ssh %s curl -k https://%s:6200" % (ip, h)
     print('Checking celerity connectivity: %s' % cmd)
     try:
-        d = subprocess.check_output(cmd, shell=True, timeout=5)
+        d = subprocess.check_output(cmd, shell=True, timeout=5, universal_newlines=True)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
         d = ''
     if "Celerity tasks server" in d: