Muge Akar, Content Sales Deputy Manager at ATV, spoke to ttvnews about the company’s new catalog for Mipcom, led by Maria and Mustafa (Maria ile Mustafa), a story that takes place between Colombia and Turkey.

With Hercai as its flagship series, Turkish distributor ATV is participating in the online edition of Mipcom 2020 with a brand new third season, along with the drama Maria and Mustafa (Maria ile Mustafa) as its big new title.

The latter is a love story that takes place between Colombia and Turkey, with a Colombian leading lady who falls in love with a Turkish man.

Produced by NTC Medya (Orphan Flowers, Love and Hate), the series premiered in September in Turkey with notable ratings results, which paint a good picture for its international potential.

It stars Turkish-Brazilian actress Jessica May and Turkish actor Hilmi Cem İntepe as Maria and Mustafa, respectively.

“It is very different from other projects we’ve done before, because we have a character that comes from Colombia. Maria is a Colombian girl who travels to Turkey and falls in love with a local man,” Muge Akar, Content Sales Deputy Manager at ATV, said to ttvnews.

“We wanted to add some international feel to the series. The main character was born in Turkey from a Colombian mother, but her father was Turkish. And then she moved back to Colombia with her mother. After her father dies, she goes back to Turkey to find her roots and that’s when she falls in love with a Turkish man,” she added.

The series features landscapes from Colombia and a few lines in Spanish.

“Maria speaks some Spanish in the series. When she doesn’t know how to say something in Turkish, she talks a bits in Spanish, but she can speak Turkish quite well,” the executive explained.

“It’s doing quite well on Sundays in prime time. The ratings are stable and will probably increase more in the upcoming weeks,” she added.

With this track record, the series seems ideal for the Latin American market. And, according to Muge Akar, it’s also suitable for any territory.

“Latin America can connect very well with it, but also Spain and other parts of the world, because it features a foreign character who is very relatable to any country,” she explained.

Hercai Reaches 33 Territories

Another exciting title in the company’s catalog for Mipcom is definitely the third season of Hercai, which recently premiered in Turkey and has already been sold in countries such as Spain.

“We will also be presenting our best-selling series, Hercai, with its third season. Its ratings are very good. Its our best-selling series now, specially during the pandemic period, we have signed many deals for it. It’s been sold in 33 countries at the moment,” she said.

“Most of the countries that bought seasons one and two will continue with the third season. They were waiting for it. In Spain, Hercai is the number one show on Nova TV. We will deliver them the episodes as soon as they are broadcast in Turkey,” she added.

“We have four new deals for Hercai: Macecodnia, Slovakia, Georgia and Bulgaria. And for the third season, there’s Spain for sure, Croacia, Georgia and more, which are in the process of negotiations,” she said.

The last new title is The Ottoman, which is now in its second season.

“The second season will start very soon. We have many countries on board for it; Albania, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan are the latest. And we are expecting new deals for the series soon. The first season was a bit shorter because of the pandemic. We had 85 episodes, which is a bit short for international broadcasters. With the second season it will be easier,” she explained.

“It’s the number one show on Wednesdays in prime time, with almost 30% share. The new season started in October. The expected number is more than 100 episodes, from October to June,” she added.

In addition, same as it’s happened to many distributors, the pandemic led to a rise in sales for its library titles. When it comes to ATV, Orphan Flowers and Love and Secrets saw a notable rise in demand.

“The demand for our finished products was quite high during the pandemic. We have a very large library with best-selling shows. We had deals for Orphan Flowers and Love and Secrets. Clients were asking for something already complete. We saw a growth in the demand for both,” she said.

A Bet on Virtual Events

Being unable to travel and participate in international events, Muge Akar believes virtual events are definitely a good substitute as long as the pandemic is still happening.

“We are attending the online edition of Mipcom, and I think it will give us that Mipcom feeling, even if it is online,” she said.

“There is a need for some kind of platform where any one can gather. It should be beneficial for everyone. Mip Cancun will also be online and we will be there as well. We will be focusing on online events for now. It’s an opportunity for everyone to check out what’s new in the market,” she concluded.