Ekin Koyuncu: “You need to find the right screen for the right content”

Turkish distributor OGM Universe was present during the LA Screenings 2024 presenting its new slate of Turkish dramas to the region. During the presentation, Ekin Koyuncu, Global Distribution & Partnership Director at OGM Universe, talked with Señal News about these new launches and upcoming opportunities for the business in Latin America.

One of the first titles introduced was “Lost in Love”, a story that follows Mete and Naz, who are bound together by a promise they made in their childhood. This promise stems from a tragic incident in which Naz's innocence is jeopardized and Mete is unconditionally supported by his family. Koyuncu explained that the production and dubbing for the 77-episode series is complete, which sets the stage for the company to heavily push it for sales worldwide.

Moreover, she shared details of “Dilemma”, produced for Amazon Prime in Turkey, which has already been sold in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and Middle East. Regarding its future in the region, Koyuncu explained that: “Amazon has the first option (for Latin America and the U.S.), but we are now starting to present it also to free TV, pay TV and other platforms in the U.S. and Latin America.” In the series, Neslihan Turhan is the host of the TV show “One Truth”. She touches people’s lives, sheds light on the stories that remain in the dark, and built her career on the principles of justice. Her life is upturned by the death of Lal Kaleli, in which Can, her son, is implicated. Caught between motherhood and all the principles that she believes in, Neslihan faces the most challenging challenges. “We are really proud of the end product that we have. It is a very different story than what we have in our library. It's a suspense crime series with eight strong episodes,” Koyuncu added.

The executive also presented “The Tailor” (3x24), a series that will be available for pay TV and free TV within two years. Moreover, daily drama “Broken Destiny” and “Lost in Love” have been sold to Paraguay, with the executive expecting “after this market, we will hear more countries that ‘Broken Destiny’ will be licensed to.”

Koyuncu explained that the company is working on a tailormade windowing strategy for every title, depending on their previous expositions: “It depends on our agreement. Some of our titles, like Netflix titles, were exposed. They were monetized in Latin America on Netflix, so we only have the window for pay TV and free TV, not the VOD window. With ‘Dilemma’, we are more free, and while aiming for free TV and pay TV, which we believe both of them could be amazing for late night, late prime time, and also for the weekends, we will also prioritize the VOD window for it.”

Koyuncu also shared that she has noticed a larger openness from buyers to different genres, expanding their searches outside of the classical drama series: “We had great responses towards our short running OTT series, and some clients are willing to open a new slot, late nights thought or even a weekend slot for this kind of dramas to try.” However, she also noted that not all series will work for all clients: “Every series has a buyer, you need to find the right screen for the right content, then it works. Not every content is for every channel for every broadcaster, so you need to really find the right broadcast, the right screen for your title.”

This openness from buyers, according to the executive, also opens the door for new audiences to become more familiar with Turkish contents: “American audiences are used to long running dramas, and they're expecting long running dramas. So this is new for them. But since the stories are very different, the cast is very well known, and the production quality is very high, this could also lead them to get new audiences, maybe younger audiences. I think it's a great introduction to Turkish talent and series to the new generation, and is a great opportunity for us and the broadcasters.”

By Diego Alfagemez and Federico Martinez