The distributor is present at NEM Dubrovnik with a catalog of its traditional and successful Turkish dramas, complemented by newly-acquired animated franchises from Turkey.
Produced by Luis Cabrera, from Croatia
This Tuesday, June 9, international distributor Eccho Rights announced it has acquired the worldwide television and theatrical rights to the Turkish animated franchises King Shakir (Kral Şakir) and Super Team (Süper Bir Takım), both produced by Grafi2000 Productions.
The agreement marks a strategic move for the company, expanding its portfolio beyond drama and strengthening its presence in the animation sector with two of Turkey’s most successful children’s properties.
Eccho Rights has begun introducing both titles to international buyers at NEM Dubrovnik, where Handan Özkubat, director of Turkish Drama, spoke to ttvnews about the titles.
“These are not only animations for kids”, began the executive. “Animation is something that families can watch together, as well as adults by themselves. It’s not adult anime, they are suitable for the whole family.”
“Our clients around the world, mostly prefer to have content they can watch together as a family,” she added. “Because they can watch other content, mostly from platforms, according to their individual preferences. But with this animation, it is for families and it’s a very strong title. They’re from Turkey and it’s a really big brand.”
The deal also marks Eccho Rights’ first trail with theatrical rights. “We would like to discover the opportunity for the first time at Eccho Rights for the theatrical rights as well.”
“We are trying to expand the way that we are running the business. Not only focusing on the Turkish drama. Of course, Turkish drama is our core, but there is also other really good content that people, our buyers can put on screen. And their audience can watch as a whole together with family.”
The executive anticipated new deals to be closed for the titles after their stay at NEM. “We know our buyers. We know what they buy. They don’t only buy Turkish drama. They buy other contents as well. And know what they need according to our acquisition strategy. What we are also observing lately in the market, is there is interest for movies, not only the TV sales.”
“Because in Europe, nearly 40% of the commissioning rates for English-speaking dramas is dropped,” she continued. “It’s due to the economical crisis after the pandemic. So, channels need fillers for scheduling. We are trying to be as helpful to our buyers as we can. We want to make sure when they visit us, they are going to find as much content as they need. But always things they can put on screen without any hesitation.”
Speaking of sales, Eccho Rights also recently announced the first international sales for Zerhun, the daily drama produced by Sincar Medya Group for Turkish broadcaster Kanal 7, with deals agreed for Israel, Lithuania and Romania.
“We are probably going to close some deals after this market as well,” she revealed. “Because, again, we got great attention. We are the first and only distributor in Turkey that has a great experience and expertise about daily dramas. So, we always serve the best.”
In this regard, the executive highlighted the successful drama Behind the Veil, which has been commissioned for a fourth season. “It is the highest rating series in Turkey as a daily drama so far,” she celebrated. “In Turkey we have a very high competition. So it is doing great.”
“And international sales are doing great as well,” she added. “We sold in Latam recently. So our buyers wanted to have more seasons. So that’s why we are coming with the fourth season.”
