Merzigo seeks to redefine premium content distribution in the era of platforms and social media

With offices in Los Angeles, London, and Istanbul, Merzigo is a global media technology company focused on the distribution and monetization of film, television, and premium digital content. The company works with studios, broadcasters, and production companies to bring their content to international audiences and generate new sources of digital revenue.

Founded in 2015 by Yigit Dogan Celik, Merzigo was established when advertising-supported digital video was still a relatively underdeveloped space. Since then, the company has built a model that combines technology, content operations, localization, rights management, and advertising monetization, with a particular focus on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.

TV FINDS A NEW LIFE ON YOUTUBE

One of Merzigo’s core pillars is the activation of audiovisual libraries. The company argues that content that has already been produced, broadcast, or released can find new audiences and generate additional revenue through digital platforms.

Its operation encompasses more than 6,000 official channels in over 30 languages, generating more than 17 billion monthly views. The model allows rights holders to expand the exploitation of their libraries through digital distribution, localization, and advertising monetization strategies.

Merzigo has more than 500 specialists and says it manages more than 8.5 million hours of premium intellectual property on behalf of international partners such as All3Media, Banijay Rights, Fremantle, ITV Studios, Hearst, NBCUniversal, David Letterman, and Steve Harvey.

The company also uploads more than 7,000 unique videos to digital platforms every day. Its approach relies on data to identify which content, moments, and formats can generate the highest levels of engagement in each market.

This approach makes YouTube and Facebook additional outlets for exploiting content that traditionally found its main distribution windows on television and other audiovisual platforms.

US$150 MILLION TO BRING AUDIOVISUAL LIBRARIES TO YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK

Merzigo’s strategy also has a financial dimension. In late 2025, Yigit Dogan Celik announced a US$150 million commitment for 2026 to support studios, broadcasters, and independent producers in expanding their content libraries for YouTube and Facebook.

According to the company, the initiative responds to the shift from traditional distribution toward open, data-driven digital ecosystems. In this scenario, audiovisual libraries gain new exploitation opportunities through digital advertising, localization, and access to international audiences.

For Merzigo, this transformation is taking place amid declining reach and revenues for traditional television, consumer fatigue with streaming subscriptions, and the growth of social platforms as drivers for content discovery and reaching new audiences.

DATA- AND LOCALIZATION-DRIVEN MODEL

One of the cases highlighted by the company is Qesma W Naseeb, a production developed under a mobile-first strategy and conceived for YouTube. The content has reached 1.69 billion views, 475 million hours watched, and 2.7 million subscribers.

Nearly 80% of its audience watches the program on smartphones. In addition, its expansion from Farsi and Arabic into Urdu reflects the localization model Merzigo applies to expand the reach of its content.

Its core capabilities include audiovisual library activation, global localization, digital rights management, YouTube-first production, and monetization on YouTube and Facebook.

The company’s growth has been accompanied by recognition including its inclusion on Fast Company’s Top 100 Internet Companies list, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, and a Best of Category award in the Entertainment Industry at the Horizon Interactive Awards.

With this model, Merzigo seeks to position itself beyond traditional distribution and become a technology infrastructure that enables rights holders to expand the reach of their content, localize it, and monetize it across the global digital ecosystem.