Elif, the daily drama from Turkish producers Green Yapim, premiered in another new territory with “stunning” viewing figures, distributor Eccho Rights reports today. Starting at the beginning of August, Happy Channel in Romania reports an average boost of four times the channel’s share over the first two weeks, with some episodes reaching 7 times the regular audience numbers.

This huge success is becoming a standard for Elif; at the end of July, the show debuted on Caracol in Colombia scoring a share of over 30%, putting it far ahead of the competition in the same slot.

This follows great debut performances in Lithuania and Estonia this spring, plus continued success for the first two seasons in Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia and Indonesia where the show is amongst the most popular series on television and was commissioned for a local re-make earlier this year. Turkish broadcaster Kanal 7 ordered a third series of the daytime series earlier this year.

“Elif is such a powerful show, and has become a guarantee of improved share for broadcasters,” says Handan Özkubat, Head of Istanbul Office at international distributor Eccho Rights. “The story has true universal appeal, as demonstrated by the figures we continue to see from channels all around the world.”

Elif tells the story of a young girl who is sent away to live on a farm by her mother. Elif's father owns the farm, but neither father nor daughter knows that they are related. As time goes by, tensions rise and Elif finds herself in the middle of a family power struggle.