Saudi-Owned MBC Group Forges Pact With Turkish TV Powerhouses Medyapim, Ay Yapim, Officially Ending Ban on Soaps

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi-owned MBC Group, which is the top broadcaster in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has forged a five-year partnership with Turkish TV production powerhouses Medyapim and Ay Yapim, officially ending a ban on Turkish soaps that had been put in place in 2018.

MBC, which is the top satellite free-to-air player in the Middle East and North Africa, and also a major MENA region premium streamer, in 2018 had pulled highly popular Turkish dramas from its channels, allegedly for political reasons stemming from tensions at that time between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The move was also believed to have been made to give greater impetus to local production. Since then, several Turkish shows had gradually seeped back into MBC programming.

But this deal signals a complete policy reversal. The partnership, unveiled at the Mipcom TV market in Cannes, involves first look and volume deals between MBC and Medyapim and Ay Yapim, as well as agreements for the two prominent Turkish production companies to produce Arabic-language content for the MENA market.