ATV Presents a Slate of Proven Hits at MIPTV
Müge Akar, Head of Sales, Europe, Asia & Africa at ATV Distribution, talks to TVBIZZ Magazine about ATV’s MIPTV drama slate, fresh international deals and the latest trends on the Turkish TV market.
Müge Akar, Head of Sales, Europe, Asia & Africa at ATV Distribution
Müge, what are the main highlights of ATV Distribution’s MIPTV slate this year?
Street Birds, A Little Sunshine, The Father and For My Family are the main highlights for MIPTV this year. Street Birds is the brand new series which we will be launching at MIPTV. It’s centred around five kids who live on the streets and find a baby in a trash can. The story contains an impossible love story and survivorship in a harsh life, and as a consequence, they have become ‘Ruthless’ adults.
A Little Sunshine, The Father and For My Family are already familiar titles for our clients but they are still very strong in terms of new deals and territories.
What have been some of the latest deals for ATV?
We recently licensed Street Birds to Bangladesh and Spain. A Little Sunshine is another growing title and already licensed to Romania, Spain, Hungary and North Macedonia. In addition, Broken Wings, which has been classified as a Golden Classic in our catalog, will be broadcast in French-speaking Africa. In a very short period of time, one of our most popular and thriving series, Lifeline, will be launched in Russia. One of our most powerful costume dramas, The Ottoman will be available in Kazakhstan. We are ambitiously continuing to reach out to the territories, and seeing the explosive growth of our beloved Turkish Dramas motivates us even more.
Which are the most important territories for ATV and will you be looking for partners from new territories at MIPTV?
Our primary goal is to always keep updated, to be willing to explore fresh territories and to demonstrate to the audience our high-quality series. ATV’s golden dramas have powerful coming-out stories and well-known and talented casts, and people from all over the world are constantly contacting us, and we continue to do our best to balance this demand. We always update our customer data and keep the territories up to date on our Turkish Dramas. Our strategies are primarily focused on expanding into more mainland Europe, Asian and African territories.
How many new projects are currently in development at ATV?
The Ottoman is airing the 4th season in primetime and the beloved series is always the leading number one series of its day we are happy with the results of the success of Asia, Africa, and Europe territories and also in Turkey. The audience is always excited for the next episode. A Little Sunshine is airing on the screens with its tender and unique story with its well-known cast and strong female leads. For My Family which is our Saturday primetime favorite remains its success and affection through screens in both licensed territories and Turkey too. And of course, our newest series Street Birds keeps amazing the audience with its unique Istanbul streets scenes and the remarkable acting skills of our well-known actor and actresses. The series results are quite satisfying for us and we are very happy with the outcome.
How has the recent earthquake affected the production and distribution market in Turkiye?
We had gone through a devastating period and unfortunately many lives were lost. During the national mourning period we stopped shooting and all of our cast and crew went to the affected area to help the people and worked together with the national aid organizations. After a certain time we are back to our normal schedule.
What are the most important trends in the Turkish TV series market this year?
Drama, family dramas, and romantic dramas are the most remarkable and effective trends right now. People are more demanding and need real-life content right now. Including in costume drama series, viewers can connect to the uniqueness of the characters in addition to their genuine and deep character backgrounds. Our drama themes are distinctive and capable of demonstrating the world’s honesty and integrity in life.
Street Birds, A Little Sunshine, The Father and For My Family are the main highlights for MIPTV this year. Street Birds is the brand new series which we will be launching at MIPTV. It’s centred around five kids who live on the streets and find a baby in a trash can. The story contains an impossible love story and survivorship in a harsh life, and as a consequence, they have become ‘Ruthless’ adults.
A Little Sunshine, The Father and For My Family are already familiar titles for our clients but they are still very strong in terms of new deals and territories.
What have been some of the latest deals for ATV?
We recently licensed Street Birds to Bangladesh and Spain. A Little Sunshine is another growing title and already licensed to Romania, Spain, Hungary and North Macedonia. In addition, Broken Wings, which has been classified as a Golden Classic in our catalog, will be broadcast in French-speaking Africa. In a very short period of time, one of our most popular and thriving series, Lifeline, will be launched in Russia. One of our most powerful costume dramas, The Ottoman will be available in Kazakhstan. We are ambitiously continuing to reach out to the territories, and seeing the explosive growth of our beloved Turkish Dramas motivates us even more.
Which are the most important territories for ATV and will you be looking for partners from new territories at MIPTV?
Our primary goal is to always keep updated, to be willing to explore fresh territories and to demonstrate to the audience our high-quality series. ATV’s golden dramas have powerful coming-out stories and well-known and talented casts, and people from all over the world are constantly contacting us, and we continue to do our best to balance this demand. We always update our customer data and keep the territories up to date on our Turkish Dramas. Our strategies are primarily focused on expanding into more mainland Europe, Asian and African territories.
How many new projects are currently in development at ATV?
The Ottoman is airing the 4th season in primetime and the beloved series is always the leading number one series of its day we are happy with the results of the success of Asia, Africa, and Europe territories and also in Turkey. The audience is always excited for the next episode. A Little Sunshine is airing on the screens with its tender and unique story with its well-known cast and strong female leads. For My Family which is our Saturday primetime favorite remains its success and affection through screens in both licensed territories and Turkey too. And of course, our newest series Street Birds keeps amazing the audience with its unique Istanbul streets scenes and the remarkable acting skills of our well-known actor and actresses. The series results are quite satisfying for us and we are very happy with the outcome.
For my Family
How has the recent earthquake affected the production and distribution market in Turkiye?
We had gone through a devastating period and unfortunately many lives were lost. During the national mourning period we stopped shooting and all of our cast and crew went to the affected area to help the people and worked together with the national aid organizations. After a certain time we are back to our normal schedule.
What are the most important trends in the Turkish TV series market this year?
Drama, family dramas, and romantic dramas are the most remarkable and effective trends right now. People are more demanding and need real-life content right now. Including in costume drama series, viewers can connect to the uniqueness of the characters in addition to their genuine and deep character backgrounds. Our drama themes are distinctive and capable of demonstrating the world’s honesty and integrity in life.
