Global Agency Sets Expansion Plans

Turkish-based Global Agency, headed up by Izzet Pinto, is looking to establish itself as a major player in the format market with its slate of reality titles, led by Perfect Bride. Known in its original Turkish as Gelinim olur musun, the show provided a twist to the dating reality genre, putting a bunch of single women in a house along with a group of single men—and their mothers. The finale of the format’s debut season clinched a 71.5-percent market share. To watch a clip of Perfect Bride, click here.

At the time of Perfect Bride‘s debut, Izzet Pinto was working as a successful literary agent, representing a number of bestselling authors in Turkey. When asked about trying his hand at representing a TV show, Pinto jumped at the opportunity, scoring the international rights to the Perfect Bride format. It was a fortuitous first step into the TV business for Pinto. He first signed up Italy, then a pan-regional Middle Eastern version and then Korea; in total, Global Agency has sold the show to 19 territories.

With proof of a track record on Perfect Bride, Pinto was soon being approached by numerous other producers in Turkey who were hoping to turn their homegrown ideas into international hits. Pinto says he rejects about "99 percent" of the pitches he receives, but notes that "1 percent are amazing."

One title that caught his attention was My Wedding Witness Is My Ex, in which divorced couples are housed together with a view to creating some new happy couples. "In one month I sold it to the U.S., Canada and Germany," Pinto states.

Also in the catalogue is Super Talented, which searches for what Pinto calls "mega-talented stars, who have multiple talents, from singing to acting, fashion design to talk-show host to stand-up comedian." He also has high hopes for The Big Challenge, which takes 12 individuals and packs them off to a far-flung destination with $1,000 and nothing else. "They don’t have a place to stay, they don’t have food to eat. They’ll find out how hard it is to make money in those countries. Every week we check on how much money they are left with. The person with the least money leaves every week. At the end of the show, whoever has the biggest amount wins."

The newest addition to Global Agency’s catalogue is Choosing My Religion, which puts ten atheists in a house with a priest, a rabbi, an imam and a Buddhist monk for ten weeks. At the end of the period, the contestants are given a choice: remain an atheist or convert?

"My biggest goal is to represent more format creators," says Pinto on his plans for growing the business. His motto for the kinds of titles he wants to offer broadcasters? "We bring you formats that create buzz."

Pinto is also keen to show what Turkey can contribute to the global format marketplace. "The cool thing about Turkey is we connect Europe to Asia. We’re in a place where we mix old-fashioned ideas with today’s culture, which is perfect. Turkey has great potential to create unique ideas."

Pinto also wants to help format creators avoid having their ideas ripped off. "The minute you score huge ratings in one country, copycat versions start entering the market," he says. "You have to be fast. You have to enter many countries quickly to be called the original. It’s not easy to find the next big thing, therefore I urge the networks to give importance to buying the original formats and reject the copycat versions."

While acutely aware of an economic climate that is putting immense pressures on broadcasters’ production budgets, Pinto is feeling upbeat about negotiating through these challenging times. "My company is fairly new with just three years of history," he notes. "We are on a rising scale in terms of revenues and we expect to grow fast even in these hard times. As long as you come up with great formats and control the expenses, you can survive in this tough economy."

When asked about the strategies he is employing to remain successful, Pinto says: "We employ people with successful backgrounds, advertise more, travel more to visit clients, reserve bigger stands, represent great formats, be very selective and work day and night!"