diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/cultureunplugged.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/cultureunplugged.py
index 9c764fe68c..9f26fa5878 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/cultureunplugged.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/cultureunplugged.py
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import re
+import time
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
-from ..utils import int_or_none
+from ..utils import (
+    int_or_none,
+    HEADRequest,
+)
 
 
 class CultureUnpluggedIE(InfoExtractor):
@@ -32,6 +36,9 @@ class CultureUnpluggedIE(InfoExtractor):
         video_id = mobj.group('id')
         display_id = mobj.group('display_id') or video_id
 
+        # request setClientTimezone.php to get PHPSESSID cookie which is need to get valid json data in the next request
+        self._request_webpage(HEADRequest(
+            'http://www.cultureunplugged.com/setClientTimezone.php?timeOffset=%d' % -(time.timezone / 3600)), display_id)
         movie_data = self._download_json(
             'http://www.cultureunplugged.com/movie-data/cu-%s.json' % video_id, display_id)