Mid East nets buys Eccho’s Turkish drama

Four broadcasters in the Middle East will simultaneously broadcast Turkish drama Karadayi following deals with distributor Eccho Rights.

Qatar TV, CBC in Egypt, MTV in Lebanon and Rotana in the Gulf will all air the show, which comes from Turkish drama producer Ay Yapim (The End, Ezel) and broadcasts on ATV in Turkey to strong ratings.

Eccho Rights, which is part of the Sparks Eccho group that Ay Yapim is a member of, claims that the deal represents the first time a non-broadcast company has handled distribution of a drama series in the Middle East region.

“When we started talking about launching a Turkish drama with four separate broadcasters in the Middle East region there was a lot of skepticism that it would work,” said Fredrik af Malmborg, managing director of Eccho Rights. “However, we could see the potential of this kind of deal. Now the agreements are signed and Karadayi is going on air. By season two, transmission across the region will be fully synchronised.”

The series follows a man who becomes head of his family after his father is wrongly found guilty of murder.