diff --git a/first-network/scripts/utils.sh b/first-network/scripts/utils.sh
index e7d1a95d44..1a427c199a 100755
--- a/first-network/scripts/utils.sh
+++ b/first-network/scripts/utils.sh
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ simulateCommitChaincodeDefinition() {
     sleep $DELAY
     echo "Attempting to simulate committing the chaincode definition on peer${PEER}.org${ORG} ...$(($(date +%s) - starttime)) secs"
     set -x
-    peer lifecycle chaincode simulatecommit --channelID $CHANNEL_NAME --name mycc $PEER_CONN_PARMS --version ${VERSION} --sequence ${VERSION} --init-required >&log.txt
+    peer lifecycle chaincode simulatecommit --channelID $CHANNEL_NAME --name mycc $PEER_CONN_PARMS --version ${VERSION} --sequence ${VERSION} --output json --init-required >&log.txt
     res=$?
     set +x
     test $res -eq 0 || continue