Turkish soaps clean up with export rise

ANKARA — Turkey has become the world’s second biggest scripted TV content exporter after the United States since the early 2000s, as its soap operas have reached more than 400 million people in more than 140 countries, covering the US, Russia, the Balkans, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

Turkish TV dramas enjoy an annual export revenue of $350 million, with some reaching $500,000 per episode, said Yusuf Gursoy, chairman of the Radio and Television Broadcasters Union.

According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly, or TIM, the value of Turkish soap opera exports were only around $10,000 in 2004 but increased to $200 million by 2014.

The international interest in Turkish serials and television shows started to increase in the late 1990s when private televisions in Turkey entered an era of progress, Gursoy said, noting that this was also the time when the country’s economic, social and cultural relations with its neighbors started to prosper.

He attributed the success of Turkish soap operas in foreign countries primarily to the close cultural bonds and the common language in Central Asian Turkish states, the Middle East, Caucuses and Balkan states.

“As part of the parameters of success, we can add well-established ties to life while screening the problems of the segments with social sensitivities, along with acting and technical capacity,” he said.

People in different countries are interested in different content. Dramas based on a certain era of the history, for example, attract attention in Latin America and the Far East, while scripts about lifestyle, religion or Istanbul draw interest in the Middle East, Gursoy explained.

TV serials with cultural and tourism potential are getting popular in Europe, he added.

The Middle East and North African countries are currently the main importers of Turkish TV series. But Turkish soap operas also aim to expand to Chinese, Japanese and Indian markets in the near future.

Scripts about romance, the Istanbul elites, historical dramas, particularly in the era of the Ottoman Empire, are popular both for domestic and foreign audiences. The Magnificent Century, which depicts the life of the 16th century Ottoman Sultan Suleyman, is the most successful Turkish TV serial so far, reaching more than 80 countries, Gursoy said.

The soap operas have also brought fame to Turkish actors and actresses, who often travel abroad to meet their fans.

The diversity of the physical appearance of Turkish actors and actresses and the fact that they have a rich typology is a significant factor for foreign audiences embracing Turkish characters, according to Burhan Gun, secretary-general of Television and Cinema Filmmakers Union.

For this reason, people living in other countries do not have difficulty in identifying themselves with characters in the series, he said.

The Turkish dramas also attract tourists, particularly Arab fans, to see the settings of favorite shows.