Warner Bros. Discovery has launched its streaming service, Max, in Turkey. This marks the 77th territory for the platform.
Max sees Turkey as a vital growth market. Deniz Şaşmaz Oflaz, the local original productions and streaming operations lead for Turkey, has outlined ambitious plans for growth and investment in Turkey’s content landscape. She emphasizes the importance of local content for success in the market.
“Turkey is a hyper-local market, and the data shows that to be successful, a global company needs to invest in local content,” said Oflaz. “Warner Bros. Discovery, instead of starting from scratch, had all the existing successful BluTV IP and will now keep producing more.”
Warner Bros.
Discovery bought BluTV at the end of 2023 to leverage its existing IP and infrastructure.
Focus on local content strategy
Oflaz detailed their strategy, saying they targeted genres less prevalent on free TV to attract a different audience and complemented this with foreign content to attract viewers willing to pay for exclusive content.
The transition to Max involves an enhanced investment in both scripted and unscripted series. Oflaz indicated that Max plans to produce at least eight scripted and four unscripted shows per year, in addition to Max and HBO originals. One of the standout original shows is ‘Prince,’ a dramedy set in a fictional kingdom called Bongomia.
“It looks like a comedy, but it’s more of a dramedy. We will be bringing out the third season just after the launch of Max,” said Oflaz. Oflaz also discussed the global potential of Turkish originals.
“We will try not to change the editorial drastically, but we will make sure our content can travel even better,” she said. This includes developing co-production models to produce shows capable of appealing to international audiences. As Max integrates local offerings and builds on its local successes, the streaming service aims to seamlessly transition its subscriber base and attract new audiences, setting the stage for a strong presence in Turkey’s competitive media market.
