diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/atresplayer.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/atresplayer.py
index f9568cb5b..d2f388964 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/atresplayer.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/atresplayer.py
@@ -6,16 +6,14 @@ import hashlib
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import (
-    compat_str,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
-)
+from ..compat import compat_str
 from ..utils import (
-    int_or_none,
+    ExtractorError,
     float_or_none,
+    int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
     xpath_text,
-    ExtractorError,
 )
 
 
@@ -86,7 +84,7 @@ class AtresPlayerIE(InfoExtractor):
         }
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         response = self._download_webpage(
             request, None, 'Logging in as %s' % username)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/bambuser.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/bambuser.py
index 1a2eef48d..0eb1930c2 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/bambuser.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/bambuser.py
@@ -4,15 +4,13 @@ import re
 import itertools
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import (
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
-    compat_str,
-)
+from ..compat import compat_str
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
-    int_or_none,
     float_or_none,
+    int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -58,7 +56,7 @@ class BambuserIE(InfoExtractor):
         }
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Referer', self._LOGIN_URL)
         response = self._download_webpage(
             request, None, 'Logging in as %s' % username)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/ceskatelevize.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/ceskatelevize.py
index d93108df5..6652c8e42 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/ceskatelevize.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/ceskatelevize.py
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@ import re
 from .common import InfoExtractor
 from ..compat import (
     compat_urllib_parse_unquote,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
     compat_urllib_parse_urlparse,
 )
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     float_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ class CeskaTelevizeIE(InfoExtractor):
 
         req = sanitized_Request(
             'http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/ajax/get-client-playlist',
-            data=compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(data))
+            data=urlencode_postdata(data))
 
         req.add_header('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         req.add_header('x-addr', '127.0.0.1')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py
index 7746f1be3..8ae3f2890 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/crunchyroll.py
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
 
         playerdata_url = compat_urllib_parse_unquote(self._html_search_regex(r'"config_url":"([^"]+)', webpage, 'playerdata_url'))
         playerdata_req = sanitized_Request(playerdata_url)
-        playerdata_req.data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode({'current_page': webpage_url})
+        playerdata_req.data = urlencode_postdata({'current_page': webpage_url})
         playerdata_req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         playerdata = self._download_webpage(playerdata_req, video_id, note='Downloading media info')
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/dcn.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/dcn.py
index 982ed94ea..5deff5f30 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/dcn.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/dcn.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     sanitized_Request,
     smuggle_url,
     unsmuggle_url,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -174,7 +175,7 @@ class DCNSeasonIE(InfoExtractor):
         data['show_id'] = show_id
         request = sanitized_Request(
             'http://admin.mangomolo.com/analytics/index.php/plus/show',
-            compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(data),
+            urlencode_postdata(data),
             {
                 'Origin': 'http://www.dcndigital.ae',
                 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/dramafever.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/dramafever.py
index 2101acaaf..3b6529f4b 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/dramafever.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/dramafever.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import itertools
 from .amp import AMPIE
 from ..compat import (
     compat_HTTPError,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
     compat_urlparse,
 )
 from ..utils import (
@@ -14,6 +13,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     clean_html,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata
 )
 
 
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class DramaFeverBaseIE(AMPIE):
         }
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         response = self._download_webpage(
             request, None, 'Logging in as %s' % username)
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/fc2.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/fc2.py
index cacf61973..c7d69ff1f 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/fc2.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/fc2.py
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ import hashlib
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
 from ..compat import (
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
     compat_urllib_request,
     compat_urlparse,
 )
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class FC2IE(InfoExtractor):
             'Submit': ' Login ',
         }
 
-        login_data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form_strs).encode('utf-8')
+        login_data = urlencode_postdata(login_form_strs)
         request = sanitized_Request(
             'https://secure.id.fc2.com/index.php?mode=login&switch_language=en', login_data)
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/gdcvault.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/gdcvault.py
index cc8fa45d2..59ed4c38f 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/gdcvault.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/gdcvault.py
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     remove_end,
     HEADRequest,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ class GDCVaultIE(InfoExtractor):
             'password': password,
         }
 
-        request = sanitized_Request(login_url, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form))
+        request = sanitized_Request(login_url, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         self._download_webpage(request, display_id, 'Logging in')
         start_page = self._download_webpage(webpage_url, display_id, 'Getting authenticated video page')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/hotnewhiphop.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/hotnewhiphop.py
index 152d2a98a..9db565209 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/hotnewhiphop.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/hotnewhiphop.py
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import base64
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     HEADRequest,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class HotNewHipHopIE(InfoExtractor):
                 r'"contentUrl" content="(.*?)"', webpage, 'content URL')
             return self.url_result(video_url, ie='Youtube')
 
-        reqdata = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode([
+        reqdata = urlencode_postdata([
             ('mediaType', 's'),
             ('mediaId', video_id),
         ])
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/lynda.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/lynda.py
index df50cb655..71fd55ade 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/lynda.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/lynda.py
@@ -4,15 +4,13 @@ import re
 import json
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import (
-    compat_str,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
-)
+from ..compat import compat_str
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     clean_html,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -36,7 +34,7 @@ class LyndaBaseIE(InfoExtractor):
             'stayPut': 'false'
         }
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         login_page = self._download_webpage(
             request, None, 'Logging in as %s' % username)
 
@@ -65,7 +63,7 @@ class LyndaBaseIE(InfoExtractor):
                     'stayPut': 'false',
                 }
                 request = sanitized_Request(
-                    self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(confirm_form).encode('utf-8'))
+                    self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(confirm_form))
                 login_page = self._download_webpage(
                     request, None,
                     'Confirming log in and log out from another device')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/metacafe.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/metacafe.py
index 0e4865446..61dadb7a7 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/metacafe.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/metacafe.py
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@ from .common import InfoExtractor
 from ..compat import (
     compat_parse_qs,
     compat_urllib_parse_unquote,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
 )
 from ..utils import (
     determine_ext,
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ class MetacafeIE(InfoExtractor):
             'filters': '0',
             'submit': "Continue - I'm over 18",
         }
-        request = sanitized_Request(self._FILTER_POST, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(disclaimer_form))
+        request = sanitized_Request(self._FILTER_POST, urlencode_postdata(disclaimer_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         self.report_age_confirmation()
         self._download_webpage(request, None, False, 'Unable to confirm age')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/minhateca.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/minhateca.py
index 6ec53c303..e6730b75a 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/minhateca.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/minhateca.py
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     int_or_none,
     parse_duration,
     parse_filesize,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ class MinhatecaIE(InfoExtractor):
         ]
         req = sanitized_Request(
             'http://minhateca.com.br/action/License/Download',
-            data=compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(token_data))
+            data=urlencode_postdata(token_data))
         req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         data = self._download_json(
             req, video_id, note='Downloading metadata')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/moevideo.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/moevideo.py
index 89cdd4600..978d5d5bf 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/moevideo.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/moevideo.py
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ import json
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ class MoeVideoIE(InfoExtractor):
             ],
         ]
         r_json = json.dumps(r)
-        post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode({'r': r_json})
+        post = urlencode_postdata({'r': r_json})
         req = sanitized_Request(self._API_URL, post)
         req.add_header('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/moniker.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/moniker.py
index c5ce693f1..b208820fe 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/moniker.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/moniker.py
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ import os.path
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     remove_start,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class MonikerIE(InfoExtractor):
             fields = re.findall(r'type="hidden" name="(.+?)"\s* value="?(.+?)">', orig_webpage)
             data = dict(fields)
 
-            post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(data)
+            post = urlencode_postdata(data)
             headers = {
                 b'Content-Type': b'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
             }
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/mooshare.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/mooshare.py
index ee3947f43..a85109a89 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/mooshare.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/mooshare.py
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class MooshareIE(InfoExtractor):
         }
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            'http://mooshare.biz/%s' % video_id, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(download_form))
+            'http://mooshare.biz/%s' % video_id, urlencode_postdata(download_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
 
         self._sleep(5, video_id)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/nfb.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/nfb.py
index ba1eefafc..51e4a34f7 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/nfb.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/nfb.py
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
-from ..utils import sanitized_Request
+from ..utils import (
+    sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
+)
 
 
 class NFBIE(InfoExtractor):
@@ -40,7 +42,7 @@ class NFBIE(InfoExtractor):
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
             'https://www.nfb.ca/film/%s/player_config' % video_id,
-            compat_urllib_parse_urlencode({'getConfig': 'true'}).encode('ascii'))
+            urlencode_postdata({'getConfig': 'true'}))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         request.add_header('X-NFB-Referer', 'http://www.nfb.ca/medias/flash/NFBVideoPlayer.swf')
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/niconico.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/niconico.py
index 688f0a124..dd75a48af 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/niconico.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/niconico.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     sanitized_Request,
     xpath_text,
     determine_ext,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -100,7 +101,7 @@ class NiconicoIE(InfoExtractor):
             'mail': username,
             'password': password,
         }
-        login_data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form_strs).encode('utf-8')
+        login_data = urlencode_postdata(login_form_strs)
         request = sanitized_Request(
             'https://secure.nicovideo.jp/secure/login', login_data)
         login_results = self._download_webpage(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/noco.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/noco.py
index 8f4b69a6f..06f2bda07 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/noco.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/noco.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import hashlib
 from .common import InfoExtractor
 from ..compat import (
     compat_str,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
     compat_urlparse,
 )
 from ..utils import (
@@ -18,6 +17,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     float_or_none,
     parse_iso8601,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class NocoIE(InfoExtractor):
             'username': username,
             'password': password,
         }
-        request = sanitized_Request(self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form))
+        request = sanitized_Request(self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8')
 
         login = self._download_json(request, None, 'Logging in as %s' % username)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/played.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/played.py
index 63065622b..57c875ef0 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/played.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/played.py
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ import re
 import os.path
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class PlayedIE(InfoExtractor):
 
         self._sleep(2, video_id)
 
-        post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(data)
+        post = urlencode_postdata(data)
         headers = {
             b'Content-Type': b'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
         }
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/pluralsight.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/pluralsight.py
index 575775f09..bc66f7a9d 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/pluralsight.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/pluralsight.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import collections
 from .common import InfoExtractor
 from ..compat import (
     compat_str,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
     compat_urlparse,
 )
 from ..utils import (
@@ -17,6 +16,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     parse_duration,
     qualities,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ class PluralsightIE(PluralsightBaseIE):
             post_url = compat_urlparse.urljoin(self._LOGIN_URL, post_url)
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            post_url, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            post_url, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
 
         response = self._download_webpage(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/primesharetv.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/primesharetv.py
index 188f08826..0c1024772 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/primesharetv.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/primesharetv.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class PrimeShareTVIE(InfoExtractor):
         self._sleep(wait_time, video_id)
 
         req = sanitized_Request(
-            url, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(fields), headers)
+            url, urlencode_postdata(fields), headers)
         video_page = self._download_webpage(
             req, video_id, 'Downloading video page')
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/promptfile.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/promptfile.py
index 67312016c..f93bd19ff 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/promptfile.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/promptfile.py
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     determine_ext,
     ExtractorError,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class PromptFileIE(InfoExtractor):
                                  expected=True)
 
         fields = self._hidden_inputs(webpage)
-        post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(fields)
+        post = urlencode_postdata(fields)
         req = sanitized_Request(url, post)
         req.add_header('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         webpage = self._download_webpage(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/shared.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/shared.py
index e66441997..e7e5f653e 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/shared.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/shared.py
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import base64
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ class SharedIE(InfoExtractor):
 
         download_form = self._hidden_inputs(webpage)
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            url, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(download_form))
+            url, urlencode_postdata(download_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
 
         video_page = self._download_webpage(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/sharesix.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/sharesix.py
index 61dc1c235..9cce5ceb4 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/sharesix.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/sharesix.py
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     parse_duration,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class ShareSixIE(InfoExtractor):
         fields = {
             'method_free': 'Free'
         }
-        post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(fields)
+        post = urlencode_postdata(fields)
         req = sanitized_Request(url, post)
         req.add_header('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/smotri.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/smotri.py
index b4c6d5bbf..5c3fd0fec 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/smotri.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/smotri.py
@@ -7,12 +7,12 @@ import hashlib
 import uuid
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
     unified_strdate,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ class SmotriIE(InfoExtractor):
             video_form['pass'] = hashlib.md5(video_password.encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            'http://smotri.com/video/view/url/bot/', compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(video_form))
+            'http://smotri.com/video/view/url/bot/', urlencode_postdata(video_form))
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
 
         video = self._download_json(request, video_id, 'Downloading video JSON')
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ class SmotriBroadcastIE(InfoExtractor):
             }
 
             request = sanitized_Request(
-                broadcast_url + '/?no_redirect=1', compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form))
+                broadcast_url + '/?no_redirect=1', urlencode_postdata(login_form))
             request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
             broadcast_page = self._download_webpage(
                 request, broadcast_id, 'Logging in and confirming age')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/soundcloud.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/soundcloud.py
index 2bca8fa3a..194dabc71 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/soundcloud.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/soundcloud.py
@@ -500,7 +500,6 @@ class SoundcloudSearchIE(SearchInfoExtractor, SoundcloudIE):
         query['linked_partitioning'] = '1'
         query['offset'] = 0
         data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(query)
-        data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(query)
         next_url = '{0}{1}?{2}'.format(self._API_V2_BASE, endpoint, data)
 
         collected_results = 0
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/streamcloud.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/streamcloud.py
index b17779e4b..712359885 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/streamcloud.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/streamcloud.py
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
-from ..utils import sanitized_Request
+from ..utils import (
+    sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
+)
 
 
 class StreamcloudIE(InfoExtractor):
@@ -35,7 +37,7 @@ class StreamcloudIE(InfoExtractor):
             (?:id="[^"]+"\s+)?
             value="([^"]*)"
             ''', orig_webpage)
-        post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(fields)
+        post = urlencode_postdata(fields)
 
         self._sleep(12, video_id)
         headers = {
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/tubitv.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/tubitv.py
index 50ed15163..306ee4e15 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/tubitv.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/tubitv.py
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ import codecs
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class TubiTvIE(InfoExtractor):
             'username': username,
             'password': password,
         }
-        payload = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(form_data).encode('utf-8')
+        payload = urlencode_postdata(form_data)
         request = sanitized_Request(self._LOGIN_URL, payload)
         request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         login_page = self._download_webpage(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/twitch.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/twitch.py
index c92dcc7b9..36ee1adff 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/twitch.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/twitch.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     parse_duration,
     parse_iso8601,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ class TwitchBaseIE(InfoExtractor):
             post_url = compat_urlparse.urljoin(redirect_url, post_url)
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            post_url, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            post_url, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Referer', redirect_url)
         response = self._download_webpage(
             request, None, 'Logging in as %s' % username)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/udemy.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/udemy.py
index 6adfb2cee..be6f3be5e 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/udemy.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/udemy.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
     unescapeHTML,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ class UdemyIE(InfoExtractor):
         })
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
-            self._LOGIN_URL, compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            self._LOGIN_URL, urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         request.add_header('Referer', self._ORIGIN_URL)
         request.add_header('Origin', self._ORIGIN_URL)
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/vbox7.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/vbox7.py
index 77bb200e9..dff1bb702 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/vbox7.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/vbox7.py
@@ -2,13 +2,11 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import (
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
-    compat_urlparse,
-)
+from ..compat import compat_urlparse
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -48,7 +46,7 @@ class Vbox7IE(InfoExtractor):
                                         webpage, 'title').split('/')[0].strip()
 
         info_url = 'http://vbox7.com/play/magare.do'
-        data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode({'as3': '1', 'vid': video_id})
+        data = urlencode_postdata({'as3': '1', 'vid': video_id})
         info_request = sanitized_Request(info_url, data)
         info_request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
         info_response = self._download_webpage(info_request, video_id, 'Downloading info webpage')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py
index 458099a4a..67220f1b7 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py
@@ -5,10 +5,7 @@ import re
 import json
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import (
-    compat_str,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
-)
+from ..compat import compat_str
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
@@ -17,6 +14,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     str_to_int,
     unescapeHTML,
     unified_strdate,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 from .vimeo import VimeoIE
 from .pladform import PladformIE
@@ -204,7 +202,7 @@ class VKIE(InfoExtractor):
 
         request = sanitized_Request(
             'https://login.vk.com/?act=login',
-            compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form).encode('utf-8'))
+            urlencode_postdata(login_form))
         login_page = self._download_webpage(
             request, None, note='Logging in as %s' % username)
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/vodlocker.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/vodlocker.py
index f1abca4d9..a938a4007 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/vodlocker.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/vodlocker.py
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     NO_DEFAULT,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class VodlockerIE(InfoExtractor):
 
         if fields['op'] == 'download1':
             self._sleep(3, video_id)  # they do detect when requests happen too fast!
-            post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(fields)
+            post = urlencode_postdata(fields)
             req = sanitized_Request(url, post)
             req.add_header('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
             webpage = self._download_webpage(
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/xfileshare.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/xfileshare.py
index 4e35e1f44..2d1504eaa 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/xfileshare.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/xfileshare.py
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import compat_urllib_parse_urlencode
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ class XFileShareIE(InfoExtractor):
             if countdown:
                 self._sleep(countdown, video_id)
 
-            post = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(fields)
+            post = urlencode_postdata(fields)
 
             req = sanitized_Request(url, post)
             req.add_header('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/yandexmusic.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/yandexmusic.py
index 158f3ea68..025716958 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/yandexmusic.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/yandexmusic.py
@@ -5,15 +5,13 @@ import re
 import hashlib
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..compat import (
-    compat_str,
-    compat_urllib_parse_urlencode,
-)
+from ..compat import compat_str
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
     float_or_none,
     sanitized_Request,
+    urlencode_postdata,
 )
 
 
@@ -170,14 +168,14 @@ class YandexMusicPlaylistIE(YandexMusicPlaylistBaseIE):
             missing_track_ids = set(map(compat_str, track_ids)) - set(present_track_ids)
             request = sanitized_Request(
                 'https://music.yandex.ru/handlers/track-entries.jsx',
-                compat_urllib_parse_urlencode({
+                urlencode_postdata({
                     'entries': ','.join(missing_track_ids),
                     'lang': mu.get('settings', {}).get('lang', 'en'),
                     'external-domain': 'music.yandex.ru',
                     'overembed': 'false',
                     'sign': mu.get('authData', {}).get('user', {}).get('sign'),
                     'strict': 'true',
-                }).encode('utf-8'))
+                }))
             request.add_header('Referer', url)
             request.add_header('X-Requested-With', 'XMLHttpRequest')
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py
index 83b5840f7..8c321f1fc 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ from ..utils import (
     unified_strdate,
     unsmuggle_url,
     uppercase_escape,
+    urlencode_postdata,
     ISO3166Utils,
 )
 
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ class YoutubeBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
             'hl': 'en_US',
         }
 
-        login_data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(login_form_strs).encode('ascii')
+        login_data = urlencode_postdata(login_form_strs)
 
         req = sanitized_Request(self._LOGIN_URL, login_data)
         login_results = self._download_webpage(
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ class YoutubeBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
                 'TrustDevice': 'on',
             })
 
-            tfa_data = compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(tfa_form_strs).encode('ascii')
+            tfa_data = urlencode_postdata(tfa_form_strs)
 
             tfa_req = sanitized_Request(self._TWOFACTOR_URL, tfa_data)
             tfa_results = self._download_webpage(