diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py
index 10c0d5d1f9..59c3fa8dc6 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py
@@ -310,11 +310,11 @@ class InfoExtractor(object):
     @classmethod
     def ie_key(cls):
         """A string for getting the InfoExtractor with get_info_extractor"""
-        return cls.__name__[:-2]
+        return compat_str(cls.__name__[:-2])
 
     @property
     def IE_NAME(self):
-        return type(self).__name__[:-2]
+        return compat_str(type(self).__name__[:-2])
 
     def _request_webpage(self, url_or_request, video_id, note=None, errnote=None, fatal=True):
         """ Returns the response handle """