TV

October's Total ratings averages for Turkish series are out, and only one of the 22 series on air managed to pass the 10 mark. Tasacak Bu Deniz took first place with 10.18, while Uzak Sehir came second with 8.06. Kizilcik Serbeti, with 5.34, missed the top 7. At the bottom of the list was Sevdam Karadeniz, which has already said goodbye to the screen.

Burcu Cavrar, who plays Hicran in Tasacak Bu Deniz, spoke about the advertising crisis shaking Turkish television and the series whose new episodes were postponed one after another. The actress said her own show has not been affected, but stressed that what is happening has hit the industry hard: 'We are on the affected side, all of us. I wish it weren't like this.'

Sevdam Karadeniz, the NOW series that was given an early ending, said goodbye to viewers with its 4th episode. After the finale, Erdem Adilce, who played Kuzey, shared photos from the show on his Instagram account along with an emotional farewell message. His words to his co-star Meltem Akçöl and his thanks to the viewers 'the rating meters didn't see' caught fans' attention.

Because of the October 29 Republic Day holiday and a shortage of advertising, many Turkish series skipped their new episodes this week, and there were no European football matches on screen either. In the week of October 25–31, the combined weekly score of seven channels (ABC1 audience) fell from 185.02 to 156.60, a drop of 28.42 points. TRT 1 was still number one, but its score was cut in half and its lead over NOW shrank from 32.75 points to just 1.73.

The highest Total ratings ever reached by the 22 Turkish series currently on air have been gathered into a single list, and the table shows just how far even this season's leaders are from their own records. The series at the top once broke a five-year record and shook the TV world. When today's figures are placed next to the old peaks, the gap for some shows is close to twofold.