After Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recommendation and PTV’s decision to telecast the famous Turkish series ‘Ertugrul’ in Urdu dubbing, the serial has become one of the most watched shows of Ramadan 2020 in Pakistan.
According to the ECO Cultural Institute, quoting Fars News Agency, Turkey is in the northwestern neighborhood of Iran and Pakistan is in the southeastern neighborhood of Iran. But Iran’s share of TV telecast for Ramadan in neighboring countries is very small. This is while we have cultural, religious and even linguistic commonalities with both countries.
Perhaps PTV broadcast of Iranian series “Day of Regret” - directed by Sirus Moghaddam - in 1993 was a rare case. Even the launch of a cultural television network by Pakistan’s Ausaf Media Group in 1998 did not help to improve the situation; the network that was supposed to broadcast Iranian documentaries, films and serials.
On the other hand, Turkey is unique in producing TV series and selling them to countries around the world. In 2018, the country sold its television productions to 146 countries, earning $500 million in foreign exchange earnings. Turkey’s TV series exports last year were $350 million. The popularity of Turkish TV series in South America reached such a level that the continent’s tourists in Turkey had increased by 46% before the Coronavirus outbreak and travel cuts.