Turkish TV Festival Wraps

Eccho Rights’ Handan Özkubat, Madd Entertainment’s Özlem Özsümbül, Tims Group’s Selin Arat and Global Agency’s Iván Sánchez closed the second edition of the Turkish TV Festival with upcoming highlights and their thoughts on the future of Turkish drama.

Özkubat, director of Turkish drama at Eccho Rights, outlined the company’s strategy when it comes to continuing to produce and distribute high-quality Turkish stories with innovative narratives and renowned talent.

In conversation with Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari, editor of TV Latina, which you can watch in full here, Ozkubat said, “As a company, we’re trying to focus mainly on quality rather than quantity. I don’t think, at the end of the day, it matters how many productions are being made. What matters most is how many of them can reach international audiences or how many of them are suitable for the profile of the international audience. For us, the story is the foundation, so we’re increasingly focused on narratives that can be appealing to the audience profile in Turkey and also work well globally. As you know, and in terms of ratings, there have recently been incredibly successful series in Turkey that wouldn’t be suitable for international markets, because they contain some local cultural elements. That’s why our main focus is to succeed as a company based on the stories and the scripts. We’re trying to bring as many successful titles as possible to our international buyers.”

She explained how Eccho Rights continues to provide Turkish titles to global programmers, considering the high demand for them, the evolution of storytelling to engage audiences across all age groups, the state of the co-production business, and their work with talent, among other topics. You can watch the full interview here.

Özsümbül, head of sales at Madd Entertainment, spoke about the competitive advantages that working with Medyapım and Ay Yapım brings to the company, as well as the debut of the super series RU and the reception of the premium production El Turco.

“Madd Entertainment was established in 2018 by two Turkish production companies: Medyapım and Ay Yapım,” she explained in an interview with Bowen-Tombari, which you can watch in full here. “Until that point, they were working with some TV channels and a few independent distributors, but at that moment, they decided to create their own distribution arm, like other companies had done. That’s how Madd Entertainment was born.”

She added: “Of course, working with both production houses has been a truly valuable asset for us because they’ve been in the business for more than 20 or 25 years and have produced really strong titles that are widely recognized around the world, with successful international stories. So working with them has been a positive experience for us and a great opportunity to distribute their content. They know what Turkish audiences want to watch and produce the kind of content that also appeals to international audiences. That’s why being part of that process, and benefiting from their experience, is very important.” You can watch the full interview here.

Joined by Leyla Tanlar, lead actress of Valley of Hearts, produced by TIMS&B Productions and distributed by Inter Medya, Selin Arat—who recently took on the role of chief global officer at Tims Group—discussed the origin of the story as well as its international appeal.

“Valley of Hearts came out of conversations with our writer and longtime collaborator Yıldız Tunç, who is also behind other hits like Deception and Bitter Lands, as well as earlier productions,” Arat said in an interview with Bowen-Tombari, which you can watch in full here. “She’s a prolific writer, and when we talked about what would come after Deception, once that production was wrapping up, she came up with this idea where there are people with white hearts and others with black hearts. The original title of the show is Siyah Kalp, which means ‘Black Heart.’ So we decided to return to family dynamics, this time with a different backdrop than Bitter Lands—Cappadocia, which is globally known as a fascinating and captivating place. That’s how Valley of Hearts was born, and we’re very happy with its performance so far.”

Tanlar added: “Valley of Hearts is a story of contrast—white hearts in a world ruled by black hearts. It’s about how even the darkest soul can hold on to the hand of a pure-hearted soul and let the light lead the way. That’s how I like to describe this story.” You can watch the full interview here.

Closing the second edition of the Turkish TV Festival, Iván Sánchez, sales director for Latin America at Global Agency, described the journey the company has taken to win over Latin American audiences, starting with the sale of 1001 Nights to Chile’s Mega more than a decade ago.

“It hasn’t been easy, especially in the beginning,” said the executive in a conversation with Bowen-Tombari, which you can watch in full here. “As you know, there has always been strong belief in Turkish content, because just as it was working in other territories, it was believed it would also work very well in Latin America. We knocked on many doors, attended many markets, and met with a lot of people. It wasn’t easy at all—at times, even frustrating. It all came down to finding the key and buyers like those at Mega, who believed in the product. That trust we had in Turkish dramas—and especially in 1001 Nights—was validated when the show premiered in Chile and triggered a domino effect, with the rest of the region acquiring it. Since then, we could say Turkish content has gradually gained ground, securing more time slots and collaborating with more channels in each country. Over time, we’ve also diversified into other platforms—not just free-to-air TV, but pay TV as well. We’re now working extensively with digital platforms, both subscription-based and ad-supported. I’d say we’ve continued to diversify, reaching end consumers through more and more windows.”

Sánchez also shared his perspective on what has allowed Turkish narratives to continue expanding their success across diverse cultural contexts, the work currently being done in Brazil, the evolution of Turkish dramas as they adapt to ongoing shifts in the content business, and the opportunities presented by streaming services and FAST channels. You can watch the full interview here.

To watch all the interviews from the Turkish TV Festival, please visit www.FestivalTurco.com or www.TurkishTVFestival.com.