Müge Akar: “ATV has a significant audience on platforms and TV channels”

Turkish distributor ATV has been among the top exporters during the past years, and it has now added a new record as it became the number one exporter of 2021, according to the Services Exporters' Association. Señal News spoke with Müge Akar, Head of Sales Europe, Asia & Africa at ATV, to describe the company's growth path.

▸ What business potential do you observe for ATV around Europe, Asia, and Africa?

"We have always been working very diligently to remain current with opening new territories and platforms or channels, and as we discover fresh information every day. We continue our work by focusing on it in greater detail, especially in Asian and African countries, and we continue developing our strategies. ATV's recognition in Asian, African, and European countries and the fame of our Turkish TV series all contribute to this potential growing tremendously."

▸ How do you organize your strategy to work with free-TV channels, pay-TV brands, and streamers?

"We approach platforms and free TV channels with the same attention and interest. ATV's catalog is large and varied, which is a big plus for both customers and us. While some platforms like our mini-series, free TV channels may prefer our long-running gold classic Turkish drama series. Our collaboration with those platforms and channels always continues with elaborately and well thought."

▸ How do you analyze the evolution of Turkish drama around these three continents?

"ATV has a significant audience on both platforms and channels. Our new and wildly popular TV series 'A Little Sunshine,' which premiered in September, has been licensed in Spain, and new deals have been reached in Macedonia, Hungary, and Romania. The costume drama series 'The Ottoman,' which fascinates the audience with its outstanding cast and production team, will premiere shortly in Kazakhstan. In Africa, we collaborate with a variety of companies. We recently signed deals in French-speaking regions, and we trust that our influence will progressively extend throughout Africa and Asia."

▸ One of ATV's highlights for MIPTV is "Street Birds." What global appeal do you recognize for this title?

"'Street Birds' is our new and hugely popular successful Turkish drama series, recently licensed to Bangladesh, making a solid debut last January. The series' main themes are family drama, love, and real aspects of life. Due to its scenario, powerful cast, and scenes shot on the streets of Istanbul with an outstanding production crew, the series is incredibly popular both locally and internationally, and it continues to develop day by day. It will continue to be an ATV drama with a worldwide influence in future markets, due to the show's intensity.”

▸ After "A Little Sunshine" reached Spain's Mediaset, could it expand its global footprint?

"As 'A Little Sunshine' continues to air successfully, our agreements with territories and companies remain intact. The global footprint left by this show is pretty effective, and its influence will be extremely fulfilling and satisfying in the coming days for us, the audience, and the channels. 'A Little Sunshine' is one of our most popular drama series, and it is now airing in many European countries."

By Diego Alfagemez