“OGM PICTURES’ CONTENT IS TRAVELING AMAZINGLY”

ARM OF TURKISH PRODUCER OGM PICTURES, DESCRIBES THE BUSINESS GOALS OF THE COMPANY AND THE POTENTIAL OF ITS CATALOG.

Last October, OGM Pictures, one of the leading production companies in Turkey, announced the launch of OGM Universe, its global distribution arm for both Turkish and international projects. This global distribution company is headed by Ekin Koyuncu, who serves as Global Distribution & Partnership Director at OGM Universe. “The first few months, we spent much time explaining the new company to the clients and why we launched it. The titles we have were known, as they have traveled to many territories around the world. However, the OGM brand was not. Therefore, we spent much time explaining that OGM Pictures is the producer of all those hit series people know. We also described the OGM Universe and what we are doing,” Koyuncu told Señal News.

This year, OGM Universe made its first appearance at the LA Screenings, highlighting some of OGM Pictures’ freshest titles such as “Stickman,” about a man’s journey as he overcomes challenges and turns adversity into a game; “Miracle of Love,” about a brave commander who never ages after being resurrected during a historic battle; and “Broken Destiny,” which follows the story of a man who wakes up from a coma to a family he does not recognize. “We are working on the licenses of those titles. So far, we have done a great job in Central and Eastern Europe and some territories in the CIS. Around Latin America, the players usually expect the titles to be completed and dubbed. Therefore, we need a bit more time there, but we are making great progress with our discussions in the United States. Hopefully, we will announce some new deals soon,” Koyuncu commented.

Track Record

Founded in 2019, OGM Pictures quickly became one of the leading producers of Turkey for both linear and non-linear, with an outstanding track record. It is the first Turkish production company to have its shows on global digital platforms such as Netflix and Disney+.

OGM Pictures has been responsible for titles such as “The Innocents” (TRT), “Red Room” (TV8), “Chrysalis” (Kanal D), “My Home My Destiny” (TV8), and “Golden Boy” (Star TV). It has also worked with Netflix on various projects such as “The Gift,” “Paper Lives,” “One Way to Tomorrow,” “Last Summer,” “Yakamoz S-245,” “Anotherself,” and “The Festival of Troubadours.” Moreover, the company has partnered with Disney+ on “Ben Gri.” “OGM Pictures’ content that other parties are distributing is traveling amazingly. For example, ‘Golden Boy’ is doing great in Latin America. This year we will see ‘Golden Boy’ everywhere in the region. After the success of this series, we hope that some other titles in our catalog will also be traveling in that territory. We also discuss partnerships and coproduction opportunities, especially in Latin America and the US Hispanic. That could be, for example, a remake of our previously produced titles or maybe new Turkish originals,” Koyuncu said.

Currently focused on enlarging its sales team, the company is also preparing to add some new content to its offer shortly. “This season, in late August, we will add new titles to our catalog. We do not have the names yet, but we are producing them for Star TV in Turkey. In 2024 we will be producing at least four new primetime series and some daily dramas,” Koyuncu anticipated.

“It is a great challenge to expand our brand and is not not easy. It is a very tough and competitive market. You need to have strong content, but ours surely is. I see more clients willing to create diversity in their programming slates. Therefore, they are open to taking more risks and betting on different genres. In Turkey, we are not all about drama; we have much more to offer. Nowadays, the genre approach in Turkish productions is expanding,” the executive concluded.

By Fernando Calviño & Federico Marzullo