Television fiction in Turkey is no longer seen simply as an entertainment product. It is increasingly becoming a strategic tool. Ankara is choosing to institutionally support an industry that already functions as an export "machine", investing in series that travel abroad and strengthen the country's image.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced a new subsidy framework for productions that are shown internationally, with funding that can reach up to $100,000 per episode. The amount of support will not be formal, but will be linked to specific criteria: market targeting, appeal and, most importantly, the way Turkey is portrayed.
From tV viewing to geopolitics
The Turkish series industry is already valued as one of the country's strongest export pillars, with revenues exceeding $1 billion. These productions are shown in dozens of countries and have acquired an international brand name - so much so that the term dizi be used internationally to describe this particular storytelling model.
Behind the commercial success, however, lies a more complex strategy. The television image becomes part of the so-called soft power: the ability of a state to shape perceptions and emotions through culture and symbolism, rather than through pressure or coercion.
Other cultural institutions, such as the public broadcaster TRT and the Yunus Emre Institute, which promote language and culture abroad, are also part of the same network. However, series have an advantage: they enter the homes of millions of viewers every day, creating intimacy through characters and stories.
The balkan "intimacy market"
In the Balkans, the appeal is not limited to high viewership numbers. In countries such as Serbia and North Macedonia, Turkish series have been linked to discussions about cultural influence, identity and public space. In the latter, in fact, political reactions and proposals to restrict broadcasting had already been recorded as early as 2012, in the name of protecting domestic production and cultural autonomy.
Their success is partly explained by the proximity of values and narrative motifs: an emphasis on family, collectivity, traditional relationships, but also on intense social conflicts that recall familiar experiences of the region. Thus, a form of “low-intensity” cultural connection is created, even when political relations are complex.
History, memory and contemporary messages
Historical productions are of particular importance. Muhteşem Yüzyıl (known in Greece as “Suleiman the Magnificent”) renewed interest in the Ottoman period through a popular, dramatized narrative.
Accordingly, the documentary series Rise of Empires: Ottoman, which was made available internationally through Netflix, presented the Fall of Constantinople to a global audience, repositioning a highly symbolic historical event through a Turkish narrative prism.
At the same time, productions such as Lefter: An Ordinary Story, which refers to the Greek-born footballer Lefteris Kioutsoukis, move in a different direction: they highlight bridge-persons, proposing a more conciliatory cultural reading.
Between the market and the state
State funding, however, is not neutral. On the one hand, it offers stability to a competitive international industry that is now adapting to the demands of streaming platforms, changing episode lengths and storytelling formats. On the other hand, it raises questions about the limits of creative autonomy.
Analysts point out that Turkish fiction often functions as a field of social commentary, highlighting contradictions and tensions within Turkish society itself. However, in some cases – particularly in works of a historical or national character – there is a greater convergence with official narratives, with the risk of self-censorship not being ruled out.
What does this mean for the region?
For greece, Bulgaria, romania, Serbia, bosnia And herzegovina, Albania, north Macedonia and Kosovo, the Phenomenon Is not just A television phenomenon. it touches on issues Of memory, identity and perception of power.
Cultural consumption does not automatically translate into political influence. However, the systematic presence of narratives, images, and symbols creates a “reserve of familiarity” that influences how one society perceives another. In a region where history remains alive in public discourse, who narrates the past, and in what style, takes on particular importance.
Turkish television production seems to be moving from a phase of spontaneous international success to one of conscious strategy. And this means that the screen, beyond a space for entertainment, is also becoming a field of competing narratives, a mild but constant factor of influence on the Balkan geopolitical chessboard.
