Discop Istanbul 2015, a global show

Yesterday, most of the participants consulted were happy with the first journey, but some of them feel that this edition is 'a bit more expensive' as well as very much focused on Turkey.

Prensario noticed a stronger presence of Turkish players, especially broadcasters (Star TV, Kanal D, TRT), producers (Arti Films, Ay Yapim) and digital platforms (Turkcell, D-Smart, TTNET). But distributors are not quiet and waiting... 

Global Agency has released its brand-new access prime time reality show It's Showtime (39x'45) with 5 participants each week that will sing and judge each other. 'Globally, we are seeing more interest of the brands to advertise on access prime time. This shows seems to be expensive, but is easy to adapt and produce as it is being done only in one studio', describes Izzet Pinto, CEO.

'Seven channels are running one or two '100 dramas per night (50-60 episodes per week), which is a huge production that is now meeting the international market', explains Fredik af Malmborg, managing director Eccho Rights who has sold The End to ABC (USA).

Apart from Turkey, there is an important presence of buyers from MENA, CEE, CIS and, for the first time, Latin America. The intention is to transform Discop Istanbul into a global market. With the success of Turkish series in the CEE (Slovakia, Croatia) and CIS countries (Kazakhstan, etc.), buyers from there started to attend Istanbul 2-3 years ago. This 2015 edition is the time for Latin America: Turkish series are on air in the US Hispanic market, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and will be launched in Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador, among others.

Three buyers from this region decided to come to analyze and pick up in advance the next Turkish hit: Juan Ignacio Vicente, head of acquisitions, Mega (Chile), the first channel that took the risk with 1001 Nights, which has become the #1 program in 2014 in Chile; Ignacio Barrera, acquisitions manager, Grupo Albavision (USA), who covers 12 territories with free TV stations; and Margarita Black, VP Programming, Azteca America (US Hispanic). 

'The duration of the success of Turkish series in our territories will confirm if we are or not going through a strong globalization process. New titles have been launched with good results, but still business model is not clear. Time will define our doubts', trusts to PRENSARIO an important Latin American distributor.
It is clear that Turkey wants to organize business: Turkish Electrical Electronics and Services Exporters Association (TET), a public-private entity promoting the exportation of content, goods and services produced here, is gathering information about the international activities of Turkish distributors. 

'Behind TET are the Ministries of Economy and Culture, as well as the local distributors. It has noticed that Turkish series are the face of our culture in the world: more than 2.5 billon persons are watching them in 105 countries in the globe. TET will provide the support of the State and financial tools for Turkish expansion', explains Akif Ebiçlioğlu, CEO of BEEMAA, which is part of TET.

Buyers & producers from MENA are looking in Istanbul for all kind of contents: ready made series, documentaries and animation, agree to PRENSARIO. An important player of the region says: 'We are buying a lot of content of all genres. But in our territories, there is a clear trend on entertainment formats'.

Fabricio Ferrara, from Istanbul