Programmer Profile: TRT’s Zeynel Koç

 

TRT is the first and the only public broadcasting channel of Turkey that broadcasts to the entire population. With the exception of TRT 1, which targets families, it has a broad range of channels—from kids to music, sports to documentary—and channels broadcasting in Arabic and Kurdish, which aim to serve a variety of different tastes and age groups. With its 14 channels, TRT appeals to everyone.

 

In addition to Turkish, TRT Avaz is broadcasting in a variety of languages like Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Kyrgyz and Bosnian. There are news channels that broadcast both nationally and internationally. Therefore, TRT targets a broad range of audiences with a variety of demographic qualities living in a vast geography.

 

TRT is bound to broaden its range and acquire all kinds of different programming, except music programs. Even though there’s no need for short-term program acquisitions, TRT does buy programs of different genres. The main fields of acquisition are movies and children’s programs. The percentage of outsourced programs on TRT is 25 percent of the total.

 

Even though the costs for programs vary depending on the genres and content, prices seem to be going upward as of late. The economic crisis seems to be on its way down regarding the Turkish television market, therefore bringing a revival to advertising, which affects television programs positively.