María Espino, Sales director for Latin America and Iberia at Mistco, spoke to ttvnews about the company’s newest productions and its vast catalog of Turkish dramas dubbed into Spanish, including the titles presented at Natpe.

The covid-19 pandemic has unquestionably affected the TV industry, which is going through an unusual paradox of having a historic demand for content, while production and dubbing has come to a halt.

In this scenario, content that’s already set to air is ideal to fill TV schedules and meet the new demand for entertainment.

In terms of Turkish drama, this means one thing: content that’s dubbed into Spanish.

Turkish distributor Mistco has a catalog of dubbed dramas available for the international market, including its most classic productions, along with new titles recently presented at Natpe.

“Resurrection: Ertugrul  is a historic and global drama and its a global phenomeon. At that time, all part of family members are at home, it will be good option for our partners. We also have Hold My Hand, which is a drama that continues to be very popular within our catalog, sold in over 30 countries. Both titles are already in Spanish,” said María Espino, Sales director for Latin America and Iberia at Mistco.

“Now what we want is to offer titles that are completely dubbed, so that if they’re needed tomorrow, they are ready to air,” she added.

Mistco is also offering new titles such as Golden Cage, Melek and My Champion, all recently presented at Natpe and also dubbed into Spanish.

“Even though, production stopped in Turkey, we already have enough material ready to be programmed. With Melek, for example, we have 110 international episodes ready and I believe that it is a very adventagous situation for our partners who are need of brand new contents,” she explained.

WORKING IN TIMES OF CORONAVIRUS

In regard to the company’s operations during the global pandemic, Espino said that the conversation with its clients remains constant and that the cancellation of the LA Screenings has made many of the negotiations scheduled for mid-May to be pushed forward.

“We are aware that the situation is difficult for everybody, from distributors to buyers. It’s definitely impacting our business, but we are trying to adapt to these changes we are going through. In addition, there’s a significant rise in the demand for linear TV series, as well as digital. We believe linear will continue to be king and since we are not able to attend markets, we are keeping in contact with our clients to sign deals for the series we have ready and which we had planned to close at LA Screenings. This has been pushed forward slightly, we are doing everything sooner than expected, sending them dubbed episodes and keeping an eye on their needs. We communicate on the phone, through email”.

In addition, the company is offering potential clients content packages with special prices. “We are trying to help each other out. Because of economic effect of pandemic, there are impacts for broadcasters and we understand that, thus we are looking for strategies that can work for both of us”.

Lastly, the executive shared that Melek, Golden Cage and My Champion are already in “advanced” negotiations in Latin America. “We hope to be able to announce deals soon,” she concluded.