Türkiye’s TV drama industry faces crisis as production costs soar, ad revenues fall

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s television drama industry is facing a growing financial crisis as soaring production costs and declining advertising revenues put pressure on broadcasters and production companies, raising concerns over the future of new productions and the country’s lucrative drama exports.

The crisis has also sparked debate over production budgets and actors’ fees, with reports that producers have sought to curb costs by asking performers to accept pay cuts or forgo salary increases. Some productions are reportedly expected to keep their per-episode budgets between 20 million and 30 million Turkish Liras ($400,000-$600,000).

Murat Yancı, head of the TV Group at Demirören Media, which operates broadcasters including Kanal D and CNN Türk, said the industry’s difficulties stemmed primarily from the widening gap between production expenses and advertising income, rather than the quality of dramas, their scripts or ratings.

“While the cost of producing TV dramas is rising dramatically, advertising revenues in the Turkish media sector are falling rapidly. Many television programs, not just dramas, can no longer cover their costs,” Yancı told the daily Hürriyet.

He argued that traditional broadcasters were at a disadvantage compared with digital streaming platforms because of differences in advertising regulations and oversight. While Turkish television channels face restrictions on certain advertisements, including those for food supplements, digital platforms can carry such advertising without comparable limitations, he said.

Yancı also pointed to differences in business models, noting that conventional broadcasters offer productions costing hundreds of millions of liras to viewers free of charge, while streaming services operate on paid subscription models.

“We are facing conditions that could make producing new series and programs impossible,” he said, adding that industry representatives had held meetings to discuss the crisis, during which the possibility of removing television dramas from schedules altogether had also been raised.

Describing the potential disappearance of domestic television productions as a major blow, Yancı said people in Türkiye watched an average of three hours and 38 minutes of television daily.

He further warned that the crisis could undermine one of Türkiye’s most significant cultural exports, putting the industry’s international reach at risk. “Türkiye’s drama exports, which have become a major source of soft power and high added value, are worth nearly $1 billion. These productions have helped nearly 1 billion people learn Turkish and fostered sympathy for Türkiye. If the industry collapses,” he said.