Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has acquired full control of Turkish streamer BluTV, a move that will allow the company to further expand its Max service in that region, the companies announced this week.
The deal comes after a close partnership between WBD and BluTV that saw WBD’s predecessor, Discovery Inc., acquire a 35 percent stake in BluTV in exchange for the privilege of distributing Discovery+ content on the service.
Last year, WBD solidified its content distribution partnership with BluTV by integrating content from HBO, Cartoon Network and Cartoonito into the streamer.
“We are very excited for this new chapter,” Jamie Cook, the general manager of WBD’s Middle East and Turkish businesses, said in a statement. “Turkey has been an important investment territory for us for over 20 years and the acquisition of BluTV brings Turkey’s first local [subscription video on-demand] player into our portfolio. The combination of compelling Turkish content and a broad range of the best international series and shows from WBD is an unbeatable recipe to be locally relevant and successful. Together, we bring Turkish audiences the most-compelling viewing experience and expand the reach of Turkish content globally.”
“As BluTV, we are very happy that our strategic partnership with Discovery Inc, which started in 2021, has resulted in us becoming one of the Warner Bros Discovery brands today,” Deniz Şaşmaz Oflaz, the CEO of BluTV, said on Friday. “As Turkey’s leading local subscription video platform, we are proud that our steady growth since day one has made us a part of one of the largest media companies in the world. From now on, we will blend the best local stories we have ever presented to our viewers with the world’s best global content to curate Turkey’s strongest streaming platform and bring our most successful local stories to the world.”
