Inter Medya CEO Can Okan: We Are Ensuring the Right IP Finds Its Optimal Monetization Model
Inter Medya is coming to Cannes with its most diverse content slate ever which now also includes the hottest trend of the year – microdramas. CEO Can Okan talks to Stanislav Kimchev about the latest developments in the business strategy of the company: from simply selling finished programs to becoming consultants in helping clients to best monetize the content, while also continuing to bet on international co-productions and strategic alliances to create new revenue streams.
Eshref Ruya
Can, Inter Medya has had a particularly active 2026, with new deals across CEE, Latin America and other international markets. What have been the biggest drivers behind this recent momentum?
Our active momentum in 2026 is rooted in a deliberate strategy combining content diversification, aggressive territorial expansion, and early adaptation to changing viewer habits. Key drivers include our robust catalog strength and high production value paired with our ability to unlock new windows in Central and Eastern Europe, expand deeper into Latin America, and make significant strides in Western Europe, notably Italy. Furthermore, expanding beyond finished content sales into microdramas, strategic co-productions, and targeted format licensing has allowed us to capture fresh revenue streams across both linear and digital platforms.
Halef has emerged as one of the key titles in your current catalog, securing a series of new sales in Italy, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Albania, among other markets. What do you believe is behind the show’s international appeal, and how important has it become to Inter Medya’s current distribution strategy?
Halef has been a powerhouse for us, reaching roughly 15 international markets, from major European windows like Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Albania, and also MENA and Latin America. Its roots in Şanlıurfa provide an authentic, rich cultural texture and striking visual backdrop, while its core themes of family dynamics, heritage, and intense emotional stakes transcend borders. Halef proves that Turkish storytelling can successfully anchor prime-time slots in highly competitive markets while simultaneously performing on digital and pan-regional feeds, serving as a successful title that validates our ability to scale high-end dramas globally following its season-two renewal at home.
MIPCOM Cannes 2026 is placing particular emphasis on new forms of storytelling and business models, including microdrama, AI and digital content. What will Inter Medya’s priorities be in Cannes this year, and which titles or areas of the catalog will be at the center of your conversations with international buyers?
At MIPCOM 2026, our focus is squarely on bridging traditional high-end drama excellence with the industry’s rapid digital evolution. Our core priorities involve showcasing our expanding, multi-layered catalog—which now spans major flagship series, miniseries, feature films, formats, and a dedicated microdrama slate—while highlighting innovative business models like our microdrama initiatives and strategic production partnerships. Conversations with international buyers are centered around our powerhouse dramas, fresh acquisitions, and new multi-genre slates designed to give our business partners flexibility whether they are programming linear channels or streaming apps.
Your partnership with Rise Studios represents an interesting expansion beyond traditional distribution, with the two companies announcing both a strategic production partnership and the start of production on Caged Love. What was the reasoning behind this collaboration, and could we see more internationally oriented productions developed through this partnership?
Our strategic production partnership with Rise Studios represents a natural evolution, moving from pure international distribution to active, upstream content creation tailored for the global market. By joining forces, we combine Inter Medya’s deep global distribution intelligence and curation expertise with Rise Studios’ capabilities. Caged Love is our first major collaborative milestone under this umbrella, and given the universal appetite for high-concept, globally minded narratives, this partnership is designed to scale, and we fully expect to develop more international-facing co-productions through this pipeline.
Inter Medya has been investing heavily in microdramas, building a dedicated internal team and expanding its catalog through acquisitions and territorial rights deals. After the early digital success of Boardroom to Bedroom, what have you learned about the commercial potential of vertical short-form drama, and how central will microdramas be to your future business?
Our early experiments and investments in microdramas - bolstered by internal team expansions and digital successes like Boardroom to Bedroom - have been eye-opening regarding commercial potential. Microdrama operates on a completely different psychological and consumption velocity where viewers demand instant hooks, rapid pacing, and high emotional or comedic payoff optimized for mobile screens. Because of this, microdramas are no longer just an experimental side-project; they are a permanent pillar of our growth strategy that allows us to capture younger, mobile-first audiences and monetize IP in bite-sized formats across emerging digital distribution ecosystems.
Central and Eastern Europe has clearly become an increasingly important region for Inter Medya. You have recently concluded multi-title and individual deals in Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and Hungary. What are buyers in CEE currently looking for from Turkish drama, and how has the region evolved as a market for Inter Medya?
CEE has matured into an exceptionally sophisticated and dynamic region for Inter Medya, highlighted by recent multi-title and individual deals across Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and Hungary. Buyers in CEE are looking for high dramatic stakes, strong family conflicts, and premium production values that can reliably anchor their prime-time grids or drive streaming subscriptions. The region has evolved from a secondary market for older catalog titles into a premier, fast-following window where contemporary Turkish dramas are acquired rapidly alongside or shortly after their domestic Turkish broadcasts.
Inter Medya has continued to strengthen its presence in Latin America, most recently with sales including Deception in Uruguay, while titles such as Heartstrings and Last Summer have also expanded their reach in the region. What makes Latin America such a natural market for Turkish storytelling, and how is your strategy there evolving?
Latin America remains one of our most vital and natural markets, reinforced recently by sales of Eshref Ruya, Halef, alongside ongoing momentum for Deception, Heartstrings, The Trusted and Last Summer. There is a profound cultural affinity between Turkish and Latin American storytelling traditions, as both cultures prioritize intense family dynamics, melodrama, emotional authenticity, and sweeping romantic arcs. Our strategy there has evolved beyond traditional television syndication to include multi-platform licensing strategies, working closely with both major free-to-air networks and dominant regional streaming and pay TV platforms to maximize reach.
Your catalog is becoming increasingly diversified, spanning long-running Turkish dramas, miniseries, feature films, formats and microdramas. Is the role of an international distributor changing from simply selling finished programs to helping buyers navigate an increasingly fragmented content landscape?
The role of the international distributor has fundamentally transformed, moving from simply selling finished programs to becoming strategic consultants and navigators. As the content landscape fragments across linear, AVOD, FAST, SVOD, and micro-platform apps, buyers face choice overload, and our value lies in helping clients curate, window, and localize content effectively, ensuring the right IP finds its optimal monetization model in every specific territory.
Turkish drama is now a mature global business, but competition for international buyers has never been stronger. As Inter Medya looks ahead, where do you see the next phase of growth coming from: new territories, new formats and shorter forms of storytelling, international co-productions, or a broader transformation of the traditional distribution model?
As the Turkish drama sector matures globally, sustainable competitive advantage will come from a synthesis of multiple vectors rather than a single silver bullet. The next phase of growth will stem from scaling our shorter forms and new formats like microdramas, deepening international co-productions through structural alliances like our work with Rise Studios, and driving a broader transformation of traditional models by blurring the lines between licensing, equity participation, and platform-agnostic distribution.
Our active momentum in 2026 is rooted in a deliberate strategy combining content diversification, aggressive territorial expansion, and early adaptation to changing viewer habits. Key drivers include our robust catalog strength and high production value paired with our ability to unlock new windows in Central and Eastern Europe, expand deeper into Latin America, and make significant strides in Western Europe, notably Italy. Furthermore, expanding beyond finished content sales into microdramas, strategic co-productions, and targeted format licensing has allowed us to capture fresh revenue streams across both linear and digital platforms.
Halef has emerged as one of the key titles in your current catalog, securing a series of new sales in Italy, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Albania, among other markets. What do you believe is behind the show’s international appeal, and how important has it become to Inter Medya’s current distribution strategy?
Halef has been a powerhouse for us, reaching roughly 15 international markets, from major European windows like Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Albania, and also MENA and Latin America. Its roots in Şanlıurfa provide an authentic, rich cultural texture and striking visual backdrop, while its core themes of family dynamics, heritage, and intense emotional stakes transcend borders. Halef proves that Turkish storytelling can successfully anchor prime-time slots in highly competitive markets while simultaneously performing on digital and pan-regional feeds, serving as a successful title that validates our ability to scale high-end dramas globally following its season-two renewal at home.
MIPCOM Cannes 2026 is placing particular emphasis on new forms of storytelling and business models, including microdrama, AI and digital content. What will Inter Medya’s priorities be in Cannes this year, and which titles or areas of the catalog will be at the center of your conversations with international buyers?
At MIPCOM 2026, our focus is squarely on bridging traditional high-end drama excellence with the industry’s rapid digital evolution. Our core priorities involve showcasing our expanding, multi-layered catalog—which now spans major flagship series, miniseries, feature films, formats, and a dedicated microdrama slate—while highlighting innovative business models like our microdrama initiatives and strategic production partnerships. Conversations with international buyers are centered around our powerhouse dramas, fresh acquisitions, and new multi-genre slates designed to give our business partners flexibility whether they are programming linear channels or streaming apps.
Heartstrings
Your partnership with Rise Studios represents an interesting expansion beyond traditional distribution, with the two companies announcing both a strategic production partnership and the start of production on Caged Love. What was the reasoning behind this collaboration, and could we see more internationally oriented productions developed through this partnership?
Our strategic production partnership with Rise Studios represents a natural evolution, moving from pure international distribution to active, upstream content creation tailored for the global market. By joining forces, we combine Inter Medya’s deep global distribution intelligence and curation expertise with Rise Studios’ capabilities. Caged Love is our first major collaborative milestone under this umbrella, and given the universal appetite for high-concept, globally minded narratives, this partnership is designed to scale, and we fully expect to develop more international-facing co-productions through this pipeline.
Inter Medya has been investing heavily in microdramas, building a dedicated internal team and expanding its catalog through acquisitions and territorial rights deals. After the early digital success of Boardroom to Bedroom, what have you learned about the commercial potential of vertical short-form drama, and how central will microdramas be to your future business?
Our early experiments and investments in microdramas - bolstered by internal team expansions and digital successes like Boardroom to Bedroom - have been eye-opening regarding commercial potential. Microdrama operates on a completely different psychological and consumption velocity where viewers demand instant hooks, rapid pacing, and high emotional or comedic payoff optimized for mobile screens. Because of this, microdramas are no longer just an experimental side-project; they are a permanent pillar of our growth strategy that allows us to capture younger, mobile-first audiences and monetize IP in bite-sized formats across emerging digital distribution ecosystems.
Boardroom to Bedroom
Central and Eastern Europe has clearly become an increasingly important region for Inter Medya. You have recently concluded multi-title and individual deals in Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and Hungary. What are buyers in CEE currently looking for from Turkish drama, and how has the region evolved as a market for Inter Medya?
CEE has matured into an exceptionally sophisticated and dynamic region for Inter Medya, highlighted by recent multi-title and individual deals across Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and Hungary. Buyers in CEE are looking for high dramatic stakes, strong family conflicts, and premium production values that can reliably anchor their prime-time grids or drive streaming subscriptions. The region has evolved from a secondary market for older catalog titles into a premier, fast-following window where contemporary Turkish dramas are acquired rapidly alongside or shortly after their domestic Turkish broadcasts.
Inter Medya has continued to strengthen its presence in Latin America, most recently with sales including Deception in Uruguay, while titles such as Heartstrings and Last Summer have also expanded their reach in the region. What makes Latin America such a natural market for Turkish storytelling, and how is your strategy there evolving?
Latin America remains one of our most vital and natural markets, reinforced recently by sales of Eshref Ruya, Halef, alongside ongoing momentum for Deception, Heartstrings, The Trusted and Last Summer. There is a profound cultural affinity between Turkish and Latin American storytelling traditions, as both cultures prioritize intense family dynamics, melodrama, emotional authenticity, and sweeping romantic arcs. Our strategy there has evolved beyond traditional television syndication to include multi-platform licensing strategies, working closely with both major free-to-air networks and dominant regional streaming and pay TV platforms to maximize reach.
Your catalog is becoming increasingly diversified, spanning long-running Turkish dramas, miniseries, feature films, formats and microdramas. Is the role of an international distributor changing from simply selling finished programs to helping buyers navigate an increasingly fragmented content landscape?
The role of the international distributor has fundamentally transformed, moving from simply selling finished programs to becoming strategic consultants and navigators. As the content landscape fragments across linear, AVOD, FAST, SVOD, and micro-platform apps, buyers face choice overload, and our value lies in helping clients curate, window, and localize content effectively, ensuring the right IP finds its optimal monetization model in every specific territory.
Halef
Turkish drama is now a mature global business, but competition for international buyers has never been stronger. As Inter Medya looks ahead, where do you see the next phase of growth coming from: new territories, new formats and shorter forms of storytelling, international co-productions, or a broader transformation of the traditional distribution model?
As the Turkish drama sector matures globally, sustainable competitive advantage will come from a synthesis of multiple vectors rather than a single silver bullet. The next phase of growth will stem from scaling our shorter forms and new formats like microdramas, deepening international co-productions through structural alliances like our work with Rise Studios, and driving a broader transformation of traditional models by blurring the lines between licensing, equity participation, and platform-agnostic distribution.
