Negotiations with 108 countries begin in Cannes for Turkish TV series

As TV series and films begin their new broadcast season, the Turkish TV series export season has also opened with MIPCOM, one of the TV and entertainment marketplaces held in Cannes, France. Negotiations are underway with 108 countries in Cannes for Turkish series. Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) President Şekib Avdagiç stated, "Our TV series and film industry has entered the emotional world of global markets so deeply over the past 17 years that whichever series we produce becomes a center of attention while still in the script stage, and 80 percent of them are snapped up before they even air."

12punto 17 November 2023

Turkish TV series the Middle East and Gulf countries, while celebrating their 17th year in the region and their 10th year in Latin America, the most prestigious fair for the TV series, film, content, TV, and production industry MIPCOM, in Cannes opened its doors in the city. Sales agreements for Turkish TV series, which have become a classic with their content of excitement, love, and drama, have begun to be signed at the festival palace where MIPCOM is held and at famous hotels along the Cannes coast.

A total of 34 companies from Turkey are participating in the MIPCOM 2023 Fair, with 20 of them under the national participation organization of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO). The fair hosts 2,600 producers, 3,100 content buyers, and 11,000 visitors from 108 countries.

Sharing his views on the Turkish content sector, ITO President Şekib Avdagiç "Our screen industry has entered the emotional world of global markets so deeply over the past 17 years that whichever series we produce becomes a center of attention while still in the script stage, and 80 percent of them are snapped up before they even air" he said.

'DISCIPLINE BROUGHT SUCCESS'

Avdagiç said, "With the success brought by this discipline, the sector is able to inform buyers, particularly in the Middle East and Latin America, about which actors are involved, when it will air, and what the short story is, allowing them to make sales even before the series is broadcast. This is also an indicator that the sector has proven itself." he added.

Stating that they are pleased to witness the stakeholders of the Turkish content sector entering the new sales season successfully, Avdagiç said that the demand for well-produced Turkish TV content is steadily increasing.

Şekib Avdagiç remarked, "Turkish series have left almost no country unwatched over the last 17 years. We are watching the success story of our rich content world in one breath, just like our Turkish series. We are progressing at a gripping pace in exports, just as we do in our series."

Regarding the reasons behind the success of the Turkish TV series sector, Avdagiç noted the following: "We are an emotional nation. We reflect this trait very well in our series. The series succeed in reflecting our shared emotions. Our Turkish actors are very talented; we appeal to the world. Our success stems from our roots. With our production quality, we convey emotions in our series very well. Furthermore, the great popularity of Turkish series shows that Turks have something to say both to their own people and to the world. These words find resonance all over the world through our series."

'GLOBAL REVENUE...'

When asked about the monetary value of the demand for Turkish series and productions worldwide, Avdagiç said the following:

"Turkish series have been the name of an adventure watched breathlessly for 17 years. I will not limit it by saying we exported this many dollars' worth of series. It would be most accurate to say 'the sphere of influence is worth billions of dollars.' Because there are ongoing contracts, and by the nature of the industry, the contents of some agreements are not known. In addition to traditional TV channels, there are domestic and foreign digital platforms. There is YouTube, there are websites. However, we can say that the global revenue of a single episode of a very popular Turkish series can exceed 600,000 dollars."

Şekib Avdagiç noted that the fact that Turkish series are watched with subtitles in the local language but with the original Turkish audio is also a significant success, contributing to the spread of Turkish as a global language.

'DEMAND FOR DOMESTIC DIGITAL PLATFORMS IS INCREASING'

ITO President Avdagiç stated that according to a PwC report, total global entertainment and media revenue reached 2.32 trillion dollars in 2022. Avdagiç said that the revenue to be generated by digital platforms worldwide is estimated to exceed 231 billion dollars by 2027, with an average annual growth of 10 percent. Avdagiç added, "Although foreign platforms still rank first in our country, the demand for domestic digital platforms is also increasing day by day."

Noting that the TV series industry is a large family, Avdagiç said, "The screen industry is a large family that includes producers, screenwriters, copyright companies, actors, set crews, distribution channels, sales teams, and buyers," he remarked.

The MIPCOM fair will close its doors on October 19.