Turkish producers see China as a new market for TV series
Turkish producers see China as the next major destination for television series exports. Kerem Çatay, CEO of production company Ay Yapım, said entering the Chinese market is one of the industry’s main goals following the success of Turkish dramas in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
According to Anadolu Agency, Turkish producers visited China last year together with representatives of Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism to explore opportunities for presenting their projects in this market. Çatay said Turkish content is already sold in about 140 countries, and a successful series can potentially reach an audience of around 1 billion people.
Largest foreign markets
The Middle East and Latin America remain the largest foreign markets for Turkish series. The international distribution of Turkish television dramas began in the late 2000s. Among the projects that contributed to this process, Çatay named “Falling Leaves,” “Ezel,” “Forbidden Love” and “Endless Love.”
The industry’s international presence was also expanded by the series “Valley of the Wolves,” “Magnificent Century,” “Resurrection: Ertuğrul” and “Çukur.” Turkish series are sold, among other places, to Vietnam and other Asian markets, Çatay said.
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Impact on tourism and culture
Birol Güven, the director general for cinema at Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and a producer, believes that series introduce foreign viewers to the country’s everyday life, cuisine, clothing, language and traditions. According to him, popular television projects also encourage people to visit Türkiye.
Güven compared this impact to that of American series, which spread an image of everyday life and consumer culture in the United States alongside entertainment. He noted that locations in Istanbul where popular series were filmed have become tourist attractions for foreign fans.
Çatay added that assessing the global audience is becoming increasingly difficult due to the spread of streaming platforms. Traditional television ratings are available in some countries, while digital services usually do not disclose detailed viewing statistics to producers. Companies also use, among other indicators, whether series enter the top 10 most popular content on platforms in different countries.
