A new act in the TV series industry monopoly scandal: The second Ayşe Barım case... Not a bird flies on TRT and ATV without her permission

In Turkey's TV series and film industry, the debates revolving around producers, agencies, and actors have been continuing unabated in recent days. An article penned by TV100 columnist Fuat Uğur, which mentions ID İletişim and Ayşe Barım, has brought allegations of monopolization in the sector back to the agenda.

The scandal grew as actors who supported Ayşe Barım and individuals detailing the monopolization in the sector spoke out.

Famous names such as Farah Zeynep Abdullah also shared information about this monopoly in the sector, pointing out that many actors are part of this structure.

In the initial phase of the process, the Competition Authority launched an investigation into 21 companies, including ID İletişim. Furthermore, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into Ayşe Barım on charges of "aiding in the attempt to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or to prevent it from performing its duties," and Barım was arrested.

WHAT IS HAPPENING AT TRT?

Following the arrest of Ayşe Barım, Fuat Uğur began to question the influence of talent agencies in the sector over TRT. In his article titled "Let's talk about TRT's talent agencies for a bit," he emphasized how a few agencies that constantly provide actors to TRT have a powerful influence in the sector.

Uğur relayed a complaint from an actor who contacted him; the actor stated that these agencies providing talent to TRT and the production companies collaborating with them have victimized them.

According to Uğur's allegations, the influence of talent agencies at TRT is so significant that these agencies and the production companies they collaborate with constantly supply actors to TRT, and he stated that this situation disrupts the balance in the sector.

It was noted that these agency connections at TRT are particularly prominent with the names of two agencies, which are Talento Menajerlik and rds İletişim.

rds İLETİŞİM ALLEGATIONS

It was noted that Talento Menajerlik is an agency owned by Tuncay Altunoğlu and is known for its casting work on popular series such as "Mehmet Fetihler Sultanı" and "Kudüs Fatihi Selahaddin Eyyubi."

Additionally, this agency represents Sıla Türkoğlu and Altan Erkekli, who act in the series "Kızılcık Şerbeti." The fact that Altan Erkekli has appeared in 29 different roles in the last 5 years highlights the agency's powerful influence over the sector.

On the other hand, rds İletişim, an agency owned by Rabia Sultan Düzenli, has formed the cast for TRT's "Diriliş Ertuğrul" and ATV's "Kuruluş Osman" series.

Uğur claims that the influence of these two agencies on the sector is so great that he uses the phrase "not a bird flies on TRT" to indicate that these agencies possess immense power over TRT.

According to Uğur's article, one of the victimized actors met with TRT General Manager Zahid Sobacı to convey the situation, and Sobacı stated that he would resolve it. Fuat Uğur also shared correspondence from WhatsApp groups where these agencies organized with each other.