Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has acquired Turkish entertainment SVOD platform BluTV.
The deal follows three years of partnership between the two companies, which started in 2021 with the launch of discovery+ on BluTV and an investment by Discovery Inc. that made the company a 35% shareholder of BluTV.
One of the components of the partnership was the option to invest further in BluTV, which has now resulted in the acquisition.
Launched in 2016, BluTV has focused strongly on original content and its content library, offering over 10,000 hours of local and international series and movies. It expanded into the MENA market in 2018, and offers a mix of BluTV originals, Turkish TV series and movies as well as Hollywood and international series and movies.
The launch of discovery+ on BluTV in 2021 gave subscribers access to content from Discovery Channel, TLC, DMAX and ID in a dedicated discovery+ branded area. In addition, viewers can access live sports with Eurosport 1 and 2.
In February 2023, HBO content and the kids channels Cartoon Network and Cartoonito were added to BluTV.
Jamie Cooke, GM CEE, Middle East & Turkey of Warner Bros. Discovery said: “Turkey has been an important investment territory for us for over 20 years and the acquisition of BluTV brings Turkey’s first local SVOD player into our portfolio. The combination of compelling Turkish content and a broad range of the best international series and shows from Warner Bros. Discovery 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.”
Deniz Şaşmaz Oflaz, CEO of BluTV, said: “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.”
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