Discovery has acquired 35% of the shares of BluTV making it the largest shareholder of the platform.
Discovery Inc. has announced that it will invest in BluTV, the largest local subscription video-on-demand service globally available to all Turkish and Arabic-speaking audiences.
The agreement will see the American media house acquire 35% of the shares of BluTV and become the largest shareholder of the platform. In exchange, BluTV will not only receive Discovery content, but also the investment that will allow it to produce as many films and series in a year. Discovery will also be able to access BluTV’s popular Turkish original content for discovery+ outside of Turkey.
The strategic partnership will make BluTV the SVOD home for all of Discovery’s global and local brands, enabling subscribers in Turkey to watch their favourite shows, including Eurosport’s premium sports offering. This investment, with an option to invest in BluTV further in the coming years, will help accelerate Discovery’s entry into the Turkish market of 83m people and allow BluTV to scale its penetration of the rapidly growing 4+m subscribers in the SVOD universe. Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Speaking about the deal, Kasia Kieli, President & MD of Discovery EMEA, said: “Turkey has been an important investment market for Discovery for 20 years and we are proud of our position as one of the leading international media companies in the country. Our investment in BluTV and our strategic partnership announced today- will represent our entry to the Turkish OTT market with the largest local SVOD player in the country. It will strengthen our multi-channel strategy in the market and will also provide access to powerful Turkish content that is increasingly finding audiences around the world. We are delighted that BluTV subscribers will soon be able to enjoy our Discovery content whenever and wherever they what. We are excited to start this journey together with BluTV.”
Aydın Dogan Yalçındağ, Founder & CEO BluTV, added:“We are thrilled to welcome Discovery, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies as our new strategic partner. BluTV has pioneered the growth of the Turkish SVOD market by focusing on combining original content production with a carefully curated library of local and international content. We are happy to have a new partner which shares our vision and strategy and will take BluTV to the next phase of growth.”