Calinos - big hits and a Romanian premiere at NATPE
Calinos is coming to NATPE Budapest with a large catalog of Turkish hits and its first Romanian drama. International Sales Director Asli Serim tells us more about the highlights which the Turkish distributor has prepared for buyers from CEE.
Asli Serim, International Sales Director, Calinos
Calinos is one of the first companies to started to distribute Turkish content internationally. How has the market evolved and what are the latest trends in terms of fiction?
This journey started in 2001 when we sold the first Turkish series Wild Heart to Kazakhstan. Since then, Turkish dramas have been sold to more than 150 countries around the world and have become a worldwide known brand and social phenomenon. Turkey is the second highest exporter of TV content after the United States. Dramas and romance are still the most sought-after genres because when it comes to real life stories, love and intrigue, there are no boundaries.
What are Calinos’ highlights for this year’s NATPE Budapest International?
Our most popular series Our Story and Woman, that we have been distributing since last year, have been sold to many countries in Europe and the Balkans and have been generating high ratings everywhere they have been broadcast. Forbidden Fruit is another title that we have signed many deals for and we’ll be seeing in quite a few countries next season. We also have a new title in our catalog - Original Sin - a Romanian drama based on a Turkish novel which has been a great success and leader in the ratings locally and we believe this title will generate good interest by buyers from around the world.
What are your latest deals in CEE?
We have sold Woman and Our Story in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Woman will also air in Hungary. Forbidden Fruit will be seen in Romania and Poland. We also recently closed a deal for Relationship Status: It’s Complicated in Slovenia.
What are the most successful series in terms of audience results in Turkey that you offer to your international clients?
Falling Leaves was one of our most successful series ever, especially in the CEE region. In North Macedonia, the final episode had a share of 80% and in Bulgaria - 60%. Stories about family values and the struggle of a father to keep his family together struck a chord in many people’s hearts. Another series that has generated profound success is The Girl Named Feriha; it became a phenomenon in all countries that we sold it to. Our latest series, Woman and Our Story, have been very popular and successful too, which has made us and the broadcasters very happy.
What is your sales strategy for 2019? Will you be looking into new territories this year? Is Latin America still the most-important market for you?
Western Europe and the Far East are currently a priority for us. Africa is another interesting market for us; the prices are still quite low there, but we believe the demand will grow in the near future. Latin America is still one of the most important markets for us. We currently have our series broadcast in most countries in Latin America.
Recently there was a competition for Latina Turkish Awards in which more than 3 million people voted for online. Our Story won 11 out of 22 awards.
You recently picked up Romanian series Original Sin for distribution. Is that your first Romanian series and do you have plans to pick up other series from Eastern Europe?
Yes, this is the first Romanian series in our catalog and the reason why we picked up this title for distribution was because it was a story based on a Turkish novel. It was shot with the same production quality and runtime as a Turkish drama series. High quality, great actors and most importantly a great story is what we look for when deciding what programs to offer our clients. We believe that this title will prove to be a great success as we have seen a good interest from our clients at MIPTV and we will close many deals by the end of this year. ▪
This journey started in 2001 when we sold the first Turkish series Wild Heart to Kazakhstan. Since then, Turkish dramas have been sold to more than 150 countries around the world and have become a worldwide known brand and social phenomenon. Turkey is the second highest exporter of TV content after the United States. Dramas and romance are still the most sought-after genres because when it comes to real life stories, love and intrigue, there are no boundaries.
What are Calinos’ highlights for this year’s NATPE Budapest International?
Our most popular series Our Story and Woman, that we have been distributing since last year, have been sold to many countries in Europe and the Balkans and have been generating high ratings everywhere they have been broadcast. Forbidden Fruit is another title that we have signed many deals for and we’ll be seeing in quite a few countries next season. We also have a new title in our catalog - Original Sin - a Romanian drama based on a Turkish novel which has been a great success and leader in the ratings locally and we believe this title will generate good interest by buyers from around the world.
What are your latest deals in CEE?
We have sold Woman and Our Story in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Woman will also air in Hungary. Forbidden Fruit will be seen in Romania and Poland. We also recently closed a deal for Relationship Status: It’s Complicated in Slovenia.
What are the most successful series in terms of audience results in Turkey that you offer to your international clients?
Falling Leaves was one of our most successful series ever, especially in the CEE region. In North Macedonia, the final episode had a share of 80% and in Bulgaria - 60%. Stories about family values and the struggle of a father to keep his family together struck a chord in many people’s hearts. Another series that has generated profound success is The Girl Named Feriha; it became a phenomenon in all countries that we sold it to. Our latest series, Woman and Our Story, have been very popular and successful too, which has made us and the broadcasters very happy.
What is your sales strategy for 2019? Will you be looking into new territories this year? Is Latin America still the most-important market for you?
Western Europe and the Far East are currently a priority for us. Africa is another interesting market for us; the prices are still quite low there, but we believe the demand will grow in the near future. Latin America is still one of the most important markets for us. We currently have our series broadcast in most countries in Latin America.
Recently there was a competition for Latina Turkish Awards in which more than 3 million people voted for online. Our Story won 11 out of 22 awards.
You recently picked up Romanian series Original Sin for distribution. Is that your first Romanian series and do you have plans to pick up other series from Eastern Europe?
Yes, this is the first Romanian series in our catalog and the reason why we picked up this title for distribution was because it was a story based on a Turkish novel. It was shot with the same production quality and runtime as a Turkish drama series. High quality, great actors and most importantly a great story is what we look for when deciding what programs to offer our clients. We believe that this title will prove to be a great success as we have seen a good interest from our clients at MIPTV and we will close many deals by the end of this year. ▪
