For our NEM Dubrovnik 2026 issue, we spoke with Berkin Nalbantlı, Head of Sales for CEE & Africa at Eccho Rights.
As the Central and Eastern European (CEE) media landscape continues to evolve, Turkish drama remains an undeniable powerhouse, anchoring linear schedules and driving streaming growth alike. Ahead of NEM Dubrovnik, we sat down with Berkin Nalbantlı, Head of Sales for CEE & Africa at Eccho Rights, to discuss the enduring loyalty of regional audiences, the phenomenal international success of daily dramas like Behind the Veil, and the distributor’s expanding roadmap for the second half of 2026.
NEM Dubrovnik remains a critical junction for connecting with CEE broadcasters. From an Eccho Rights perspective, what are the defining trends you’re seeing in the CEE market this year? How is the appetite of regional broadcasters evolving?
What we’re seeing across CEE is a market with a clear sense of what works for its audiences. The appetite for long-form Turkish drama from linear broadcasters is as strong as ever, and the fundamentals are essentially unchanged: strong characters, emotional storylines, consistent quality; CEE audiences have shown real loyalty to content that delivers on those things, and broadcasters know it.
Eccho Rights recently secured a wave of sales for Behind the Veil across Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and more. You’ve noted that this series often outperforms much higher-budget productions. What is it about the writing and performances of this specific drama that strikes such a chord with international audiences?
It comes down to story and character. Behind the Veil is produced on a modest budget for Kanal 7, yet it has broken viewing records in Türkiye and is now going into a fourth season with the same cast and writers intact. The central premise, a marriage of convenience where real feelings develop and then get tested repeatedly, translates across any culture. But what keeps audiences coming back isn’t the premise, it’s that they genuinely care what happens to these specific characters. There is very strong chemistry between the two leads in this series, and their performances are committed. The ratings it delivers against weekly productions reflect that excellence.
Turkish daily dramas provide broadcasters with reliable, year-round programming. Why does this genre remain a “safe haven” for CEE broadcasters, and how does Behind the Veil exemplify the perfect balance between emotional storytelling and relentless narrative pace?
The volume is a huge part of the appeal, and buyers regularly contact us looking for the next long-running big hit. A daily drama that works is enormously valuable for a programmer; it fills a large chunk of the schedule and builds the kind of reliable, returning viewing that’s hard to achieve with shorter titles. Where daily drama sometimes fails is when duration comes at the expense of storytelling. Behind the Veil avoids that, with each new season introducing new pressures on the central relationship and the show never losing sight of why viewers are watching.
The Eccho Rights catalogue is incredibly diverse. Beyond the success of daily dramas, we know that high-end weekly series and crime dramas also hold significant weight in the CEE and Baltic regions. Could you highlight some of your other key titles currently on the radar of regional buyers and discuss what makes these projects stand out in such a competitive market?
Two titles I’d highlight are Another Chance and Beneath the Surface, both produced for Turkish streamer TOD. They represent a different side of Turkish production: tighter episode counts, higher production values, stories designed for a more demanding viewer. Beneath the Surface is already into its second season. Another Chance is newer but the buyer response has been strong from the start. But it’s not just shorter OTT originals that succeed with streamers; I Am Mother (161×45’) continues to perform well, and Golden Boy (332×45’) has demonstrated it works on both linear and streaming platforms, giving buyers real flexibility.
While the Eccho Rights team will be active on the ground in Dubrovnik, how would you describe the company’s broader roadmap for the CEE and Africa regions for the second half of 2026? Are there any new genres or territories you are particularly excited about?
In CEE, the pipeline is healthy and we’re focused on deepening existing broadcaster relationships. In Africa, Turkish drama is still expanding into markets that are relatively new to the genre. There’s genuine appetite there and we’re committed to those relationships for the long term. More broadly, Eccho Rights doesn’t stand still. We’re always looking at where the catalogue has room to grow, and I wouldn’t rule out some new directions over the coming months.
