Kanal D’s Özge Bulut Maraşli

The Turkish drama sector is teeming with new players today as the genre continues to gain popularity around the globe. The success of the country’s scripted export business has its roots in Gümüs, a Turkish drama hit that was licensed to the Middle East and sparked a viewing phenomenon. That show, along with subsequent breakouts like Fatmagül, War of the Roses and Wounded Love, hails from Turkey’s leading broadcaster, Kanal D, a division of Dogan TV Holding. Özge Bulut Maraşli, the CEO of Kanal D and deputy CEO of Dogan TV, shares with World Screen her strategy for strengthening the company’s operations locally and abroad.

WS: Tell us about the overall strategy you are putting into place as the new CEO of Kanal D and deputy CEO at Dogan TV Holding.
BULUT MARAŞLI: One of the main strategies is using our expertise in producing content, broadcasting and channel management on international platforms. Also, digitalization is on our agenda. In this area, we made significant progress in producing content especially for our OTT platform, BluTV. We are also planning new worldwide investments through BluTV.

WS: What’s driving the success of Kanal D in Turkey? I know dramas are significant to your schedule, but what are your other programming strengths?
BULUT MARAŞLI: Our strengths in programming come from our experience of over 20 years. We know what our audience wants. The most important thing is we are the trendsetter of the media sector. We are courageous when it comes to trendsetting. Our audience likes to see the old and the new together. Therefore, we are combining the values coming from the past and future programming. We get positive feedback on this, so we continue.

WS: In such a crowded environment, how are you maintaining innovation within the Kanal D programming team?
BULUT MARAŞLI: This is inevitable. I want you to picture a highway where all the cars are driving extremely fast. You have to drive fast too, and if you want to be the leader, you have to drive even faster than everyone else. This is indispensable for us. To make this possible, our teams work 36 hours a day, not 24. This requires a lot of self-sacrifices and hard work. Innovation needs investment. We will keep investing in innovation.

WS: Tell us about Dogan’s international business. What growth opportunities are you seeing?
BULUT MARAŞLI: We have high-quality content. We believe that our content can be aired on thematic channels on different platforms. Also, we are looking for co-production opportunities. Co-production is not a quick process. When you check the international examples, you see that it takes a minimum of a year. We are cooperating with several companies for co-pros. Meanwhile, we will stay open to any other opportunities.

WS: As consumption habits change, how are you serving your audiences on multiple platforms?
BULUT MARAŞLI: Every day we monitor our audience’s reactions. We seriously invest in research, not just data but also sociological research. There are two dimensions to our research: what is going on in the world and what is going on in Turkey. To see what goes on around the world is crucial to us for setting our vision. And to know Turkey better helps us to set our works to the right platform.

WS: What are some of your other priorities for Dogan’s businesses locally and abroad in the next 12 to 18 months?
BULUT MARAŞLI: In the next 12 months, our priority is to make new investments for our content production. This is a major issue for us. Locally we have two channels, Kanal D and teve2, and are planning to strengthen both channels and protect their leading positions.