Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto looks back at a successful MIPTV and discusses his plans for the future with CEETV’s Georgi R. Chakarov.

CEETV: Mr. Pinto, in our last conversation you said you had big expectations for MIPTV. Was the market successful for Global Agency? How was the format Stairway to Fame received by the industry?

IP: It was definitely the best market ever for us. Since the first day of the market, we have been closing a couple of deals every day. It’s true that “Content is king”. When you have good content, things get easy and buyers jump into projects which they find interesting. In the last couple of years, our dramas were selling more than our formats but at the moment our formats are getting a lot of attention.

Stairway to Fame received good interest especially from Asia. China will probably be the first country to air the format. After its success, we will quickly enter other markets.

CEETV: Turkey is the Country of Honor at MIPCOM in October. What are your plans for the market and what will be the role of Global Agency in it?

IP: Whether Turkey’s the country of honor or not, Global Agency is always very active in marketing. The minute you arrive to the airport, check into your hotel, walk in the croisette or enter the Palais, you would see our advertisements all over the place.

We like guerrilla marketing and we’ll continue to do so. At MIPCOM, we’ll present our new projects with spectacular launches.

The Turkish TV market is getting a lot of attention so I am very happy that Reed Midem selected Turkey as Country of Honor. Together with other distributors, we work hard to create buzz.

CEETV: After the success of Turkish drama what is the situation with Turkish formats? Do you think the next big international hit can come from Turkey?

IP: Good ideas can come from anywhere. It can be Turkish, Bulgarian or Indian, it doesn’t matter. Our acquisition department always search for the next big thing. At MIPTV, our best selling titles were The Married Game and The Remix. The Married Game is from Greece and The Remix is Indian. These two will be big hits all around the world.

Turkish formats have also been very successful lately. The Perfect Bride, Shopping Monsters, Blind Taste, Rivals in Law and Keep Your Light Shining have been sold to so many countries.
We are now also having success with our scripted formats. NBC will air the remake version of Game of Silence in early 2016.

CEETV: What are the main demands and concerns you receive from the buyers? In general, are the broadcasters gradually becoming more bold and willing to risk or are they becoming more cautious and conservative?

IP: Buyers are always trying to stay away from taking risks. If they take some risk, they can be more successful. We see the same formats and series all around the world. If I were in their position, I would test several paper formats and create success stories.

CEETV: Your company is the leading independent distributor. What challenges does your company have now after this rapid development? Are you considering any partnerships in the industry or are you planning to be independent?

It’s so much fun to be independent. We don’t need to report to anyone. We can be creative and invest in anything we want. I don’t want to have a boss but if they offer 1 billion dollars, I won’t say no:)

CEETV: What does Global Agency plan for the future? How do you see the company 5 years from now?

IP: After becoming the leading independent distributor, the challenge is to keep this title.
Since many mid size companies have been either bought by majors or went bankrupt, this left us as the leading independent distributor.

At the moment we are a team of 25 people. It’s quite a good number for a distribution company since we are not producing anything. My goal is to reach 50 people in 5 years from now and keep growing by 30-40 percent each year.

CEETV: If you had the power to change one thing in the global TV industry, what would it be?

IP: I would urge broadcasters to stay away from copycat formats. I think the biggest threat to our industry is the copycat formats.