Ekin Koyuncu: “OGM Pictures’ content is travelling amazingly”

Back in October of last year, OGM Pictures, one of the leading production companies of Turkey, announced the launch of OGM Universe, its global distribution arm for both Turkish and international projects. This global distribution company is now headed by Ekin Koyuncu, former Executive Director of Kanal D International, who serves as Global Distribution & Partnership Director at OGM Universe.

“The first couple of months we spent a lot of time explaining the new company to the clients, and the reason why we launched it. The titles that we have were known, as they have traveled to many territories around the world. However, the name of OGM was not. Therefore, we spent a lot of time explaining that OGM Pictures is the producer of all of those hit series that people know. We also talked a lot about the OGM Universe and what we are doing,”  Koyuncu told Señal News during the LA Screenings.

This year, OGM Universe made its first appearance at the LA Screenings, highlight some of OGM Pictures’ freshest titles such as “Stickman,” about a man’s journey as he overcomes challenges and turns adversity into a game; “Miracle of Love,” about a brave commander who never ages after being resurrected during a historic battle; and “Broken Destiny,” which follows the story of a man who wakes up from a coma to a family he does not recognize.

“We are working on the licenses of these titles. So far, we have done a really good job in Central and Eastern Europe, and some territories in the CIS. In Latin America, the players usually expect the titles to be completed and dubbed. Therefore, we need a lit bit more time there, but in the United States we are making a great progress with our discussions. Hopefully, after LA Screenings we will be announcing some new deals,”  the executive commented.

Founded in 2019, OGM Pictures quickly became one of the leading producers of Turkey for both linear and non-linear with an outstanding track record. In fact, the company is the first Turkish production company to have its works on international digital platforms such as Netflix and Disney+.

OGM Pictures has been responsible for titles such as “The Innocents” (TRT), “Red Room” (TV8), “Chrysalis” (Kanal D), “My Home My Destiny” (TV8), and “Golden Boy” (Star TV). It has also worked with Netflix on various projects such as “The Gift,” “Paper Lives,” “One Way to Tomorrow,” “Last Summer,” “Yakamoz S-245,” “Anotherself,” and “The Festival of Troubadours.” Moreover, the company has teamed up with Disney+ on “Ben Gri.”

“OGM Pictures’ content which is being distributed by other parties is travelling amazingly. For example, ‘Golden Boy’ is doing great in Latin America. In fact, this year we will be seeing ‘Golden Boy’ everywhere in this region. After the success of this series, we hope that some other titles of our catalogue will be also traveling in the territory. We are also focused on discussing partnerships and coproduction opportunities, especially in Latin America and the US Hispanic. That could be, for example, a remake of our previously produced titles or maybe new Turkish originals,”  Koyuncu said.

Currently focused on enlarging its sales team, the company is also getting ready to add some new content to its offer in the near future. “This season, in late August, approximately, we will be adding new titles to our catalogue. We do not have the names yet, but we do know that we are producing them for Star TV in Turkey. In 2024, we will be producing four new primetime series at least, and also some daily dramas,”  the executive anticipated.

“It is a great challenge to expand the brand, it is not easy. In fact, it is a very complicated and competitive market. You need to have strong content, but ours surely is. Now, I am seeing more clients willing to create diversity in their programming slates. Therefore, they are open to take more risk and bet on different kind of genres. In Turkey, we are not all about melodramas, we have so much more to offer. Nowadays, the genre-approach in Turkish productions is expanding,”  Koyuncu concluded.

By Fernando Calviño & Federico Marzullo