Netflix Stays in Turkey After Exit Reports on Gay Storyline

(Bloomberg) --

Netflix Inc., the world’s largest paid streaming service, said it remains committed to working in Turkey, in a response to weekend reports that it would shut operations due to government interference in content.

“We remain deeply committed to our members and the creative community in Turkey,” Netflix said in a statement. “We are very excited about the projects that are ongoing and will soon start shooting.”

Netflix scuttled plans to begin recording a Turkish show called “If Only” after the Culture Ministry, which reviews all scripts of internationally sponsored productions, sought the removal of a gay character, according to a person familiar with Netflix’s thinking. The Los Gatos, California-based company, which was to have produced the show in cooperation with a local company, didn’t agree to any script modifications and canceled it instead, the person said.

Soon after reports of the cancellation circulated in local media, a fake farewell message from Netflix began to circulate among Turkish social-media users.

Netflix had more than 1.5 million users in Turkey as of November, according to a company statement. The number has gone up significantly because the coronavirus outbreak forced people indoors in the past four months, the person said.

Earlier this month, the BBC reported that Netflix had removed a gay character from another program -- “Love 101” -- after “bilateral talks” with RTUK, Turkey’s media watchdog. Mahir Unal, deputy chairman of the ruling AK Party, said that Netflix had initially planned to feature a homosexual cast member called “Osman” in the series.

“We did not edit ‘Love 101’ to remove an LGBTQ character from the show -- there never was one in the first place,” a Netflix spokesman told Bloomberg on Monday.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.