Global Agency’s Izzet Pinto

Izzet Pinto, founder and CEO of Global Agency, talks to World Screen about some of the factors driving the company’s growth.

In an age of megamergers, Global Agency is thriving as an independent. Pinto has built up the company over the last decade by tapping into a rich pool of creativity, developing format concepts in-house and working with producers from around the world. With a catalog that encompasses more than 150 projects—spanning formats and drama—Global Agency continues to see sales gains despite the challenging conditions facing its home market of Turkey.

WS: How are you maintaining the ambitious growth path you’ve set out for Global Agency?
PINTO: When we were [starting out], we would see growth of around 50 percent to 100 percent every year. As we grew into a larger-sized company, it tends to slow a bit. We had around 20- to 25-percent growth for the last couple of years. Last year, our growth rate was 12 percent.

Turkey has had an economic crisis, and, accordingly, the channels’ ad sales have been down. Because of this, many Turkish dramas were canceled in the last year and a number of new series were taken off the air after a few episodes. Shows were being canceled very quickly if they weren’t reaching high numbers, whereas in the past the channels were more flexible. It was a very difficult year for the industry. As a result, last year, there were fewer Turkish dramas to be exported. When facing a year like that, and still managing to grow by 12 percent, I consider it a huge success. I think a lot of companies decreased their sales, but we still managed to increase ours.

One of the reasons we were still able to grow is our formats. My Wife Rules, Shopping Monsters and Momsters had strong sales records. With format licensing, we were able to have a good year.

WS: What’s the rough breakdown between drama and format sales?
PINTO: For many years, format sales represented 20 to 25 percent of our overall distribution business. Last year, it was around 28 percent. I am always aiming for 35 to 45 percent as an ideal for our format sales because I’m very ambitious about formats and always have been. We started as a format company, so I almost feel like I owe something back to that industry because it’s how I began my business.

WS: Turkish dramas have been riding high on a wave of demand for a while now. How is the genre keeping its momentum at a time when drama from all over the world is traveling and given the economic crisis in Turkey?
PINTO: It’s been difficult. Clients are very selective now. Since many dramas didn’t see second seasons in Turkey, it makes a series harder to sell. For Global Agency and its competitors in the industry, the main challenge is to find content from Turkey to be exported. Nevertheless, we always manage to find good content. So, the demand didn’t drop; it’s still out there. We just need more product to be produced in Turkey.

WS: Do classic themes still work best in Turkish dramas, or is there more experimentation with less traditional plots and structures?
PINTO: The scripts still mainly have classic themes. Turkey is known best for its unique telenovela-type dramas. We are really good at producing high-quality melodramas. Turkish-drama buyers don’t look for short episodes, anything that’s too fast-paced or thrillers. They want series that are long-running and not risky, a classic telenovela style that’s high quality.

WS: Are you eyeing more dramas from outside of Turkey?
PINTO: We are looking. In the past, we have had dramas from Spain, Portugal, Russia and the U.K. But Turkish drama still has such a good reputation. When you have the label of “Made in Turkey,” the clients are ready to have a look. With dramas from other countries, they might have doubts and require a huge track record of success since they aren’t that familiar with it. We have already invested years in proving that Turkish dramas can be successful globally.

WS: What are the biggest challenges facing the format business?
PINTO: The biggest problem is copyright infringement. Unfortunately, you might pitch a great format to a client and after a year you see that they have used your idea, mixing in some side elements to create their own version. That’s very frustrating. If you take them to court, not only will it take years and require a lot of money, but there’s also no guarantee that you’ll win the case. The process is very tiring and challenging. It’s difficult for distributors to protect their format IP, but also the channels should be more supportive. They need to pay attention [to what’s being pitched] and go with the original idea.

WS: What types of formats are cutting through with buyers today?
PINTO: Daily formats have been doing well for us. When a format makes a breakthrough, like The Masked Singer did last year, it gives you courage and confidence that your format could be the next big hit. For several years, there hasn’t been a global breakout hit, so I’ve enjoyed seeing the success of Masked Singer. It helps ignite the passion in other creators and distributors. It also shows that it might take years to reach that breakthrough point. Once a U.S. network picks it up and creates buzz, then everybody takes notice. I am hopeful that in 2020, we can achieve similar success.

We launched The Legend a couple of years ago, and for some reason, it couldn’t make it on air. There was a lot of interest in it initially, and I couldn’t understand the reason it wasn’t [getting picked up]. Finally, though, it will be on air in the Middle East in October. We’re extremely excited. If it’s a success, it could gain momentum, and that could be our Masked Singer. A leading independent production company is picking up the rights to The Legend for the U.S., and maybe that will see a big network coming to the table.

WS: With all the mergers and acquisitions in the marketplace, what’s your view on consolidation?
PINTO: It’s a great success story to see a small company that’s grown every year become big enough to be sold to a large corporate brand. I admire that, but it’s not what I want for my company. I want us to remain independent. I enjoy my work so much; Global Agency is my greatest passion. Having a boss, reporting to them every week, having conference calls, etc., that’s not what I want. I’m not eyeing it, but also I don’t want to say that it’s absolutely impossible.

Because we are independent, we can work with everyone. We work with companies like Endemol, Fremantle, Hervé Hubert, Constantin Entertainment and many independent production companies. We are very flexible. If you’re part of a large corporation, there are layers of approval before you can do something—I get to do whatever I want!

WS: As you look ahead at the challenges facing the business and where the opportunities are, what’s guiding your focus for Global Agency?
PINTO: For the distribution industry at large, the next three years might be a little bit tough. The ad revenues for free-TV channels are dropping, so sales, in general, are going to be down if you don’t have enough big projects that you can sell. The market is shifting from free TV to digital. But there are not enough digital players yet. It’s dominated by a few large companies, and if you don’t work with two or three of them, it means that you’re not working with 70 percent of the players. In five years from now, I’m sure there will be many more digital companies. I see a bright future for our entertainment business, but there could be some challenging times ahead. I’m not worried for Global Agency, though, since every year we manage to find a couple of big titles. Our sales are still strong. We will manage to maintain our position. Since there are fewer independent companies, we will shine through.