Turkish drama boom ‘will stabilise’

CONTENT LONDON: Leading figures in the Turkish market have said the country’s drama growth will “stabilise” by 2016, but have offered solutions to keep its global reach sustainable.

Execs from Turkish drama distributors Global Agency and Eccho Rights, broadcaster TRT and prodco TIMS Productions shared their views at C21’s International Drama Summit yesterday.

Izzet Pinto, founder and president of Magnificent Century distributor Global Agency, said the Turkish drama boom would continue despite the rise in local production in one his company’s target markets, Central and Eastern Europe.

“2014 was the best year for all the distributors because we had a great archive up to now and we have seen the new markets opening,” Pinto said.

“I expect 2015 to be strong as well, but after that it will be stable. I’m not expecting a big fall but it will be stable.”

Meanwhile, Fredrik af Malmborg, MD and co-founder of The End distributor Eccho Rights, pointed to how Turkish dramas are now breaking into telenovela-loving Latin America, among other new markets. Fox in the US is also remaking The End, a show from Turkish production firm Ay Yapim that first aired on ATV.

“It’s incredible. We foresee this trend happening in Asia as well,” af Malmborg said.

But Mehmet Demirhan, deputy head of TRT’s TV department, said another sustainability solution would be for Turkish broadcasters and production outfits to move into coproductions.

“It will be one of the elements for the sustainability of the Turkish drama boom in global markets,” he said. “We are moving in that direction, and to keep the ball rolling, we would also like to produce global films and feature films.”

However, Pinto and af Malmborg said coproduction opportunities were few and far between, with Pinto adding he “did not believe” in coproductions.

Demirhan and TIMS’s director of international operations Selin Arat disagreed. However, Arat admitted: “Turkish producers are a bit wary about keeping what is theirs because of the licensing situation.”