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“Balkan, MENA sales for Kanal D” – C21 Media

“Broadcasters in the Middle East and the Balkans have acquired Turkish drama Kuzey Guney from broadcaster Kanal D.

The soap, created and written by Ece Yörenç and Melek Gençoglu and produced by prodco Ay Yapim, has been acquired by UAE-based regional satcaster Dubai TV and RTV Pink in Serbia. An Iranian distributor has also bagged the show.

The 40×90′ series, which debuted in Turkey last September, follows two brothers who love the same woman. Dogan Media-owned Kanal D’s sales division describes the show as Turkey’s “most popular TV series of this year.”

Another Serbian channel, Prva TV, has also acquired drama Leaf Cast (174×90′), while a French distributor picked up Turkan for French-speaking markets. A distributor in Kazakhstan also bought drama series A Night in June.

The deals continue the recent upswing in demand for Turkish drama around Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In the US, NBC recently acquired the format to Forbidden Love for its Hispanic channel Telemundo.

Kanal D has also unveiled its next big drama for the international market, Kotu Yol, which tells the story of a girl who runs away to be a movie star and find herself in the middle of a love triangle. It debut in Turkey last week.”

Source : C21 Media

Author : Ed Waller

“Sultans series swings more sales” – C21 media

“Turkish distributor Global Agency has racked up more sales of Ottoman Empire drama Magnificent Century, as details emerge of a similar series in development in the US.

The TIMS Productions show is about Suleiman the Magnificent, ruler of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its glory in the 16th century.

The first season of the show, which is now in its second season in Turkey, has been picked up by Prva for transmission in Serbia and Montenegro, and by Kanal 5 in Macedonia.

Viewers will also be able to watch the series in Russia (Domashny), Azerbaijan (Lider TV), Slovakia (Markiza), Czech Republic (Barrandov), Romania (Kanal D), Kazakhstan (Khabar) and Albania (Albanian Screen), while Dubai TV will air it in 22 Arab-speaking countries.

Many territories are due to launch the show simultaneously on December 21, said Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto.

Magnificent Century airs on free-to-air Show TV in Turkey, though it will transfer mid-season to rival Star TV in January, following the latter’s takeover by Dogus, the owner of the Turkish version of CNBC.

The latest Magnificent Century sales come as it emerged that US cablenet Starz and BBC Worldwide Productions (BBCWW) are developing Harem, a six-hour series about Suleiman the Magnificent and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ann Peacock, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is said to be penning the series, about a slave girl who marries the Sultan.

Harem would become the second coproduction between Starz and BBCWW Productions since a deal was signed following their collaboration on Torchwood: Miracle Day. They are also working together on historical fantasy Da Vinci’s Demons, an eight-parter due to begin production in early 2012.

Speaking about Harem, Pinto told C21: “I would be very happy if such a thing would be made because it would create more knowledge and interest in the subject. It would be an advantage, not a disadvantage.”

A BBCWW representative said: “We have various titles in stages of development, none of which are at a stage we’re prepared to discuss. Not every project between Starz and BBC Worldwide Productions falls under the overall deal recently announced.””

Source : C21 media