The biggest problem in the Turkish TV series market is the costs. For example, an agreement was made with TV8 for the TV series Süslü Korkuluk (meaning: Fancy Scarecrow). However, when producer OGM Pictures demanded a budget of 2 million TL for each episode, the channel was not able to meet it. No television broadcaster like TV8 wants to pay a fee of 2 million TL for an episode. As a result, the imbalance between the size of Turkey’s advertising market and the costs of productions continues to increase.
The depreciation of the Turkish lira against foreign currencies prevents television channels from allocating large budgets to TV series. Even if the television channels that have a share in the Turkish advertising market pay 2 million TL per episode, it does not seem possible to balance this with the income they will get from that series.
At this point, the economic power of Netflix and now Disney Plus, which connects famous names one after another, comes to the fore. Many producers have also started investing in digital projects that are more planned, completed in less time and generate better revenues.
At this point, the Club series draws attention. Bringing together important actors such as Gökçe Bahadır, Salih Bademci, Fırat Tanış, Metin Akdülger, Barış Arduç, the budget of the series Club is 650 thousand dollars per episode. That is, the highest budgeted series ever shot in Turkey. When we convert this money in Turkish Lira, it is 9 million. It costs more than a lira…
The Club TV series was revolutionary for the Turkish TV series market. Because a Turkish broadcaster cannot pay such a high budget. However, it is very advantageous for Netflix to make such a series and ensure that it attracts great attention. Because the costs in Turkey are far below the costs in Western countries.
As a result, the budget of the Club series is not a problem for Netflix and it will pay off. However, it is not possible for Turkish television channels to broadcast such a series. Because it is impossible to meet such a budget with advertising revenues.
When this is the case, famous names are making deals for both Netflix and Disney Plus projects one by one. Turkish actors, who sign for very high wages compared to the market, do not create a serious cost for foreign companies. However, if you want to play a famous actor in television series in the future, it may not be that easy if digital options are also taken into account.
This is the reason behind Disney Plus’s effort to connect the names it has agreements with to its own platform.