We spoke with Inter Medya’s Senior Sales and Communication Manager Sinem Alışkan at Series Mania about this year’s market dynamics, evolving content trends, and the company’s strategy to expand further into Western Europe.
Alışkan also emphasized that one of Inter Medya’s main goals at Series Mania is to find strong co-production partners who recognize the value of Turkish content and are willing to invest in it, further opening doors to the European market.
How was this year’s Series Mania for Inter Medya? How does it compare to previous years?
I think it went really well. Compared to last year, it was more crowded and much more intense in terms of meetings and overall activity. For us, it worked better. It allowed us to have more focused and productive meetings.
This market is very important. We are present everywhere with our series and films, but Western Europe is still a market we aim to break into. There is a certain resistance there, and Series Mania is one of the key places to overcome that. Since the environment here includes more Nordic and European players, it gives us a valuable opportunity to strengthen those relationships and find ways to enter that space.
This is our third year here, and every year I see a clear increase in the number of meetings we have. That makes me very happy, it shows growing interest in what we do. This year especially, we received a lot of attention. Even through panels, people came to us, asked questions, and requested meetings. Beyond immediate results, this helps build brand awareness. Even if people didn’t know Inter Medya before, now they recognize the name and know that we are here.
We’ve been in the industry for 34 years, and it’s important for European players to understand that we are not only about long-running Turkish dramas. We also produce and represent mini-series, films, and various formats that align with European viewing habits. These are highly consumed formats in Europe, and we want to show that we are equally strong in those areas, with high production quality.
We believe we’ve been able to communicate that effectively here. That’s why Series Mania is one of the key markets for us to be present in.
What are your current content strategies and how do you approach new trends like microdramas as Inter Medya?
Microdramas are definitely one of the rising trends right now, and we are actively working in that space. We’ve recently launched a dedicated line, where we both represent content and produce our own projects. Being involved in production also allows us to truly understand the process and improve continuously.
We are learning together with the industry here, seeing how things evolve, understanding audience expectations, and observing the level of interest. Microdramas might even become one of the doors that opens Europe to us.
One important point for us is to show that Turkish content is not limited to the traditional long-form dramas people are familiar with. We create a wide range of content, and our production quality is consistently high. This is something we are very proud of and always emphasize.
Even when it comes to microdramas, our approach is clear: we do not want to compromise on quality. The ‘Turkish quality’ that audiences recognize in long-running dramas should also be present in short-form content. We are not trying to produce cheaper or lower-quality work just because the format is shorter.
Whether it’s a mini-series, a film, or a microdrama, our goal is to maintain the same high standards. That’s what defines us. And with microdramas becoming a major trend, we believe we are positioning ourselves in the right place at the right time.
Click here to read our interview with Inter Medya CEO Can Okan.
