At nine o’clock in the evening, Buenos Aires time, the capital of Argentina, you can easily hear the music of the famous “Ertugul series” in the speakers of the shops and cafes at the mouth of the Amazon, the Spanish version of which is shown on Latina, the largest Latin drama channel in the entire center and south of Latina. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkPfhUo8-aA
Wide spread
After their wide spread in large areas of the world, especially the Arab world, Turkish series began to invade the screens of the South American continent, and received great popularity there, thanks to their quality and areas of interest that address various societies, and at the heart of them is the Ertuğl series, which chronicles the story of the launch of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled large parts of the world over nine centuries. The series is shown on the most famous satellite channel for drama in Latin America during prime time (9 p.m.), and is watched by millions in the 22 Spanish-speaking countries that the channel reaches through its broadcast, topping its viewership rates among dramas, according to Dr. Mehmet Ozkan, director of the branch of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Colombia, who spoke to the Anatolia News Agency.
Reasons for success
Regarding the reason for admiring Ertugrul, Ozkan stated that “citizens in the Latin continent generally watch Turkish series, accompanied by their children, because they say that their topics do not conflict with their moral and social culture. They are series that do not contain sexual clips or excessive violence, but rather stories of love and feelings devoid of sex, humanitarian themes, and stories from life.” He added, “The Latin continent is witnessing social change and rapid modernization similar to what Turkey is witnessing. The concepts of family, male-female relationships, and themes of love have a great influence on them, and perhaps this is what attracts them to it. Ozkan explained that the classic themes that contain stories based on crime, drugs, persecution, and sex are no longer desired by the general community there. Among the results of the success of the series, joint Turkish-Latin companies began moving to produce joint series, as a Brazilian production group signed a joint series project contract with a Turkish company.”
A great Turkish drama success
Türkiye occupies second place in the world in exporting TV series after the United States, and the Arab countries and the Middle East region are at the top of its importers. Turkish series also succeeded in attracting viewers in the Balkan countries and South America, and entered the competition in Russia and the Middle East. Türkiye exports its series to 102 countries around the world, reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.
But how did Turkish drama reach Latin American screens?
The beginning is Chile
Turkish series entered the continent of South America via Chile, after the series “One Thousand and One Nights” was very popular and admired by viewers there, and because of their great popularity among viewers in Chile, these series helped save several private television channels, which were suffering from low viewership rates, before they rose significantly after showing Turkish series. One of those satellite channels is Mega TV, which was able to outperform competing channels after it began showing Turkish series, even though it had previously suffered from low viewership rates. Later, the series “The Magnificent Century – Muhteşem Yüzyıl” (known as the Sultan’s Harem in the Arab world) achieved record numbers in the number of viewers in Colombia, and Paraguay is currently showing three Turkish series that rank among the top three in the number of views there, which are “Forbidden Love,” “Aleph,” and “What is Fatima Gul’s Sin?” In Argentina, the series “Black Love,” “The Little Bride,” and “Harem” are at the top. Sultan” as well as “Ertugul”.
Broad social impacts
After the series “What is Fatima Gul’s fault” was shown on Chilean television, the popularity of Turkish actor Engin Akyurek, who is known in the Arab world as “Karim,” rose. The name “Karim”, which is Engin Akyurek’s character in the series, spread among children born in Chile, after the series achieved high views, reaching 12 million viewers on a regular basis, and the series topped the viewership rates in Chile even over the local series shown there.
