Warner Bros. Discovery buys local Turkish drama streamer BluTV

Jamie Cooke (Source: WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has acquired Turkish drama streamer BluTV, marking the first such deal for the US studio giant since its formation.

Blu TV, which was launched in 2016 and offers more than 10,000 hours of local and international series and movies, struck a pact with WBD in 2021 that saw its Discovery+ streamer becoming available on the Turkish service.

As part of the deal, WBD gained a 35% stake in BluTV and the option to invest further in the streamer, which has now been taken up.

The companies deepened their partnership in February by adding HBO content and the kids channels Cartoon Network and Cartoonito to BluTV, with the deal including shows ranging from The Last of Us and Game of Thrones, to Sex And The City and Tom & Jerry.

Jamie Cooke, GM CEE, Middle East & Turkey of Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “We are very excited for this new chapter. Turkey has been an important investment territory for us for over 20 years and the acquisition of BluTV brings Turkey’s first local SVOD player into our portfolio.

“The combination of compelling Turkish content and a broad range of the best international series and shows from Warner Bros. Discovery is an unbeatable recipe to be locally relevant and successful.”

Deniz Şaşmaz Oflaz, CEO of BluTV, added: “From now on, we will blend the best local stories we have ever presented to our viewers with the world’s best global content to curate Turkey’s strongest streaming platform and bring our most successful local stories to the world.”

WBD’s own future has been under discussion over recent months, most recently last month when reports emerged that CEO David Zaslav had met with Paramount CEO Bob Bakish over a potential merger.