Salmi Gambarova, Sales Executive, Asia & CIS, Kanal D International
What are your top three priorities for distribution of your content in Asia in 2020?
"We have some of the most ever sold Turkish dramas globally in our catalogue, stories that have travelled across so many countries. These dramas are among the valuable dramas that we wish to prioritise for Asia.
Did the Asia market live up to your expectations in terms of acquisitions in 2019?
"Turkish drama production quality is always something that we are proud of and when it is combined with our unique but relatable storytelling, the buying decision comes very rapid… Our penetration at all regions continues to grow. Asia is a vast market with such valuable content of its own, so in terms of Turkish content the realistic approach is seeing the importance of time and patience when entering and expanding in Asia. Though there is an evident demand for Turkish content from the audiences, 2019 continued to have an introductory role for Turkish content, paving the way for the breakthrough of love and recognition in the market as a whole for the upcoming year."
What do you think will have the biggest influence on acquisition of your content in 2020?
"Our library has the best and widest Turkish content distributed worldwide. We have great stories that even the second runs are rating busters, all around the world from LatAm to Central Asia. Even, Western Europe has lately they discovered Turkish content with Spain and we believe more and morecountries will follow Spain example in the near future. We believe this impact will also effect Asian countries."
Excerpts from this interview were published in ContentAsia's print edition for the ATF in Singapore