Can Medya Grubu

Can Medya Grubu is an Istanbul-based media group whose principal brands include Habertürk, Show TV and Bloomberg HT. Its portfolio spans television, radio, news websites and a digital business weekly. Acquired from Turgay Ciner’s group in April 2025, the media businesses have been managed by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) as court-appointed trustee since September 2025.

Media assets

Television: Show TV, Show Türk, Show Max, Habertürk TV, HT Spor and Bloomberg HT.

Radio: Bloomberg HT Radyo, operated by C Görsel Yayınlar A.Ş.; Habertürk Radyo, whose masthead names Ciner Medya TV Hizmetleri A.Ş.

Digital news: haberturk.com, bloomberght.com and htspor.com.

Magazine: Bloomberg Businessweek Türkiye, a weekly digital subscription publication.

Habertürk’s print newspaper closed in July 2018. Bloomberg HT announced in February 2026 that its cooperation agreement with Bloomberg had been extended through the end of 2028.

Ownership and governance

On 23 December 2024 the Can group announced an agreement to acquire Ciner Yayın Holding from Park Holding. The Competition Board’s decision of 20 March 2025 identified the buyer as Doğal Yaşam İnşaat ve Taahhüt A.Ş. and the seller as Park Holding, Ciner Yayın Holding’s sole shareholder. It determined that the acquisition of all shares was not subject to authorisation. Chairman Mehmet Kenan Tekdağ subsequently confirmed completion on 24 April 2025.

On 11 September 2025 the authorities seized 121 Can Holding companies, including media businesses, during an investigation alleging organised crime, fraud, smuggling and money laundering. TMSF was appointed trustee by court order. The fund said its priorities were protecting employees and third parties and maintaining operations. The seizure and trusteeship are procedural measures, not findings of criminal guilt.

A Trade Registry Gazette notice dated 24 September 2025, reported by Ekonomim, named six new managers: İbrahim Paşalı, Hakan Hastaoğlu, Şeref Safa, Yusuf Öksüzömer, Serdar Karakuş and Ayşegül Aydoğan Uruş. Paşalı had written for Yeni Şafak and Hastaoğlu for Sabah.

The return of 33 companies to Can Holding’s management in September 2026 excluded the media businesses. Medyascope reported on 14 October 2026 that trusteeship over Habertürk, Bloomberg HT, Show TV, Show Max, Show Türk and HT Spor continued. TMSF exercises management powers as trustee.

Source of funding and budget

The outlets sell advertising, while Bloomberg Businessweek Türkiye also charges for subscriptions. A current consolidated media budget and a breakdown of public and private revenue were not identified. The Media Ownership Monitor’s Ciner record, last updated in April 2023, also lists revenue, operating profit and advertising’s share of funding as missing data.

Editorial independence

Evidence from before the sale shows political favouritism alongside episodes of resistance to pressure. In its 2023 election report, OSCE/ODIHR found that Show TV portrayed Erdoğan and the People’s Alliance positively while taking a more balanced approach to the opposition. It found that online Habertürk showed clear favouritism towards Erdoğan. Its monitoring did not cover Habertürk TV or Bloomberg HT, and these findings predate both the acquisition and the trusteeship.

In May 2021 Habertürk dismissed Habertürk TV’s Ankara representative Bülent Aydemir after criticism from MHP leaders; editor-in-chief Kürşad Oğuz subsequently resigned. Media ombudsman Faruk Bildirici criticised the management’s response as surrendering to political pressure. Conversely, in July 2021 Habertürk defended its columnists’ editorial freedom and declined a demand for a corporate apology from the presidency’s communications officials after correcting disputed information in a Fatih Altaylı column.

No independent content study of these outlets under TMSF trusteeship was identified in this review.

Show TV and Bloomberg HT publish viewer-representative contacts. No current published group-wide charter insulating editorial decisions from management, or oversight body independent of the controlling management, was identified. Habertürk’s earlier statements supporting editorial freedom should therefore be distinguished from enforceable safeguards under the present governance structure.

AI and digital policy

No dedicated public policy governing AI use in journalism was identified on the outlets’ reviewed pages. Article 8 of Habertürk’s and Bloomberg HT’s terms prohibits bulk automated collection and use of their content for AI training without written permission. These provisions concern third-party reuse rather than newsroom practice.

Classification rationale

TMSF-appointed management places both governance and editorial control in state hands. Predominant state funding has not been established. The CaPu classification reflects formal state management and editorial control, replacing the previous CaPr designation.

October 2026