Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has acquired Turkish streamer BluTV.
The US media giant already had a 35% stake in the eight-year-old streamer and had concluded content deals, but has now increased its stake to 100%. Today's news builds on WBD CEO David Zaslav's statement during the third-quarter earnings call that the company would deploy capital to growth initiatives around the world.
BluTV launched in Turkey in 2016, expanded to MENA in 2018, and partnered with Discovery+ in 2021 as Discovery took a 35% stake (prior to the WBD merger). This partnership was deepened earlier this year when HBO content such as Game of Thrones and The Last Of Us, as well as children's channels Cartoon Network and Cartoonito, were added to BluTV.
Jamie Cooke, WBD general manager for Turkey, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe, said Turkey “has been a key investment area for us for over 20 years”.
“The acquisition of BluTV brings Turkey’s first local SVoD player to our portfolio,” he added. “WBD’s combination of compelling Turkish content and a wide range of the best international series and shows is an unbeatable recipe for being locally relevant and successful.”
Denis Şaşmaz Oflaz, CEO of BluTV, added: “As Turkey's leading local subscription video platform, we are proud that our steady growth since day one has made us part of one of the largest media companies in the world.”
The takeover in the quiet post-Christmas week could mark the start of an extremely busy year for WBD. A shocking meeting between Zaslav and Paramount Global boss Bob Bakish was reported just before Christmas, which could be a harbinger of a merger between the two giants while the company is still making strategic changes due to the Warner merger.