[Getty Images] Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has been chatting to BBC Radio Humberside in a three-part feature interview where he discussed how he became one of Turkey's most popular TV stars and the owner of a Premier League football club. The passionate Turkish media mogul shared his story in a wide-ranging chat ahead of his clubs' first top-flight game in nine years and his first since buying them in 2022. In the first part released on Friday, Ilicali spoke about his upbringing in Turkey's northeast Erzurum Province and his formative years in media.
Listen to all parts of Ilicali's interview and keep up with all the latest Hull news on BBC Sounds
In the second part, he reflects on how he built his media empire - including earning the nickname 'Turkey's Simon Cowell' for his establishing of shows such as Turkey's Got Talent, Deal or no Deal and The Voice. "Deal or no Deal changed my life completely," he said. "I made the concept and it collapsed in ratings on the first episode! "For five episodes the show got very bad ratings. I was shocked. First time I said I would maybe be unsuccessful in my life. It went very bad. We were doing it very colourfully. "I went to my house, didn't sleep all night, checked all Deal or no Deals in the world one by one as I was not accepting the defeat. Something was missing. "Then, I saw the British one. Everywhere was dark, the host was serious, the contestant was serious. In other countries there was dancing and music. I said this would work better. "I completely destroyed all other episodes. I called all the contestants on a Saturday night to the studio, got the studio dark and focused on them. I chose the contestants myself. "There was a guy who lost his family in an earthquake. His story was good and he was so nice. He played the game with me and then the ratings immediately went a quarter of a million better." You can listen to part two of Ilicali's chat in full here on BBC Sounds [BBC]