Embarking on its next stage of growth, with the U.S. at the heart of its expansion plans, Merzigo has created four new divisions and committed $200 million to investing in content in 2027.
The company, led by Yiğit Doğan Çelik, chairman and CEO, is structuring its business around four key divisions—Merzigo Studios, Merzigo Platforms, Merzigo Ad Alliance and Merzigo Academy—as it eyes further global expansion, particularly in the U.S.
The company spent $150 million on content in 2026, onboarding more than 20 new partners, inking multimillion-dollar agreements with leading media companies and talent, funding more than 2,000 hours of YouTube-first content, and investing in more than 100 hours of scripted programming.
Under the restructuring, Merzigo Studios serves as the content investment, licensing, and production business; Merzigo Platforms covers its technology, product, and engineering capabilities; Merzigo Ad Alliance is an independent advertising sales business, launching first in EMEA with more markets to follow; and Merzigo Academy is the talent and knowledge business, launched in 2021, which has already trained and developed close to 1,500 people.
With the four departments, Merzigo will be able to work across the content lifecycle, from funding through production, distribution and monetization.
“We have built Merzigo around a powerful core monetization business, and over the past several years have developed significant capabilities in content, technology, advertising and talent around it,” Doğan Çelik said. “Bringing these businesses together as distinct companies marks the next stage of that development. Each has its own mandate and ambition, while together they strengthen what we can offer partners and the value we can create across the content lifecycle.”
The company has earmarked $200 million to invest in content in 2027, focused on major strategic agreements with leading studios, broadcasters, and producers; licensing premium content and rights for new territories, audiences and platforms; and direct investment through Merzigo Studios in YouTube-first, scripted and unscripted productions.
Ceyda Sıla Çetinkaya, COO of Merzigo, noted, “We successfully deployed the $150 million we committed to content investment in 2026, and that investment has enabled us to expand our partner base, invest in thousands of hours of content and deepen our relationships across the global media industry. We are now increasing that commitment to $200 million for 2027, with the U.S. at the heart of our next phase of growth. We see significant opportunity to deepen our relationships with the world’s leading content owners, producers and talent and to bring more premium content into our global ecosystem.”
The increased content investment will be used to support the expansion of the company’s U.S. content slate across the traditional and digital-first ecosystems.
