# Dergilik (Turkcell) (2011 – 2023)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/dergilik/
- Sector: Media and entertainment
- Country: Turkey
- Total funding: unknown
- Cause of closure: Business model failed

## What did it do?

Dergilik began in 2011 as a digital magazine app developed for iPad users by Turkcell, Turkey's largest mobile operator. Over time it became a publishing platform bringing hundreds of magazines and daily newspapers together under one roof on phones and tablets. It was offered at no extra charge to Turkcell subscribers on eligible tariffs, while users of other operators paid a monthly subscription (14.99 TL in 2017). In later years, audio versions of articles and podcast episodes were added.

## Why did it shut down?

In a message to subscribers and publishers, Turkcell said it was ending Dergilik as a result of a change in its strategic plans in line with the fast-changing demands and expectations of the digital world. According to Ekovitrin, the company gave no reason beyond this short statement. The platform earned its revenue largely not directly from readers but as a perk bundled into operator tariffs, which tied its fate to Turkcell's priorities. By way of interpretation, a service carrying the licensing costs of hundreds of publications may be thought to have lost importance for the operator as reading habits shifted to social media and free news sites. The app was removed from all stores on 5 September 2023.

## The story

In 2011, as tablets were only beginning to catch on in Turkey, Turkcell developed a digital magazine app for iPad users. Called Dergilik, the app was, in the words of Marketing Türkiye, Turkey's first digital magazine platform. The idea was to put the magazines on newsagents' shelves into people's pockets with a single subscription.

The platform grew over the years. By the end of 2016 it carried more than 250 magazines from 85 publishers and had been downloaded around 1 million times. According to a ShiftDelete report in the spring of 2017, the app was installed on 1.2 million smart devices, and 800,000 magazines had been read in March alone. It was offered at no extra charge to Turkcell subscribers on eligible tariffs, while users of other operators paid 14.99 TL a month. In later years newspapers were added, articles became available as audio and podcast episodes moved onto the platform. As egirişim reported, in 2021 more than 68 million publications and articles were read on Dergilik, 30 million articles were listened to and more than 23 million podcast episodes were played.

In August 2023 subscribers and publishers received an unexpected message. Turkcell said it had changed its strategic plans because of the fast-changing demands and expectations of the digital world and had decided to end Dergilik. Ekovitrin wrote that the company made no further statement. The app was removed from all stores on 5 September 2023. Magazines that had been on the platform for years pointed their readers to other channels: Quality magazine recommended Türk Telekom's e-Dergi app and its own website, while Marketing Türkiye launched a discounted digital subscription for Dergilik readers.

The end of Dergilik shows how fragile the content services that operators bundle into tariffs can be. The app had reached millions of reads, but as a product that earned its revenue more from operator bundles than directly from readers, its future depended on Turkcell's strategy. When the strategy changed, the 12-year-old platform closed with an information notice.

## Lessons

- If you tie your revenue to a partner's bundle, that partner's strategy becomes your roadmap.
- Even when reading and download figures are high, measure separately whether the product makes money on its own.
- On a platform built on content licences, establish the balance between cost and revenue early.

## Sources

- [Turkcell Dergilik is closing: why did it fail?](https://www.ekovitrin.com/turkcell-dergilik-kapaniyor-acaba-neden-basarisiz-oldu)
- [Dergilik is ceasing publication: Digital Marketing Türkiye subscription discounted throughout September!](https://www.marketingturkiye.com.tr/haberler/dergilik-yayin-hayatina-son-veriyor/)
- [Our digital editions on Turkcell are ending because the Turkcell Dergilik platform is closing](https://qualitydergisi.com/turkcell-dergilik-platformu-kapatildigi-icin-turkcelldeki-dijital-yayinlarimiz-sona-eriyor/)
- [More than 68 million publications and articles read on Turkcell's Dergilik app over the year](https://egirisim.com/2021/12/27/turkcellin-dergilik-uygulamasinda-yil-boyunca-68-milyondan-fazla-yayin-ve-makale-okundu/)
- [What is Turkcell Dergilik, and how do you use it?](https://shiftdelete.net/turkcell-dergilik-nedir-nasil-kullanilir-81410)
- [Turkcell's digital magazine platform Dergilik reaches 250 magazines](https://www.marketingturkiye.com.tr/haberler/turkcellin-dijital-dergi-platformu-dergilik-250-dergiye-ulasti/)