Cartoon Network Arabic

**Cartoon Network Arabic** is a free-to-air satellite children's channel that is broadcast for a pan-Arab audience in the Middle East and North Africa region (excluding Israel, Iran, Turkey and Cyprus), and it is one of two Arabic-language versions of Cartoon Network, the other being an HD pay TV channel on beIN and additional providers called Cartoon Network MENA which is available in both English and Arabic. The channel was launched on October 10, 2010 at 10:10 AM GST, with the channel's launch coinciding with the opening of Turner Broadcasting System Europe's offices in Dubai Media City.

The standard channel broadcasts via Arabsat Badr 6 and Nilesat. Cartoon Network Arabic is considered a free-to-air alternative to Cartoon Network MENA and Boomerang MENA, two pay TV channels offered in the Arab world in HD and in both English and Arabic on beIN Network and additional providers since July 1, 2016, despite the varying differences in programming, schedules, and available languages. On June 14, 2018, the channel's broadcasting has ended.

## History

Cartoon Network Arabic was launched on October 10, 2010 at 10:10 AM GST. The channel's launch coincided with the opening of Turner Broadcasting System's offices in Dubai Media City, UAE, which is where the channel's local owner is located.

The channel changed its aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 on October 6, 2014; it also began using the Check It 3.0 branding on that day.

On 4 October 2017, the channel has fully rebranded to Dimensional style.

In December 2015, Turner Broadcasting System entered an exclusivity deal with the Qatar-based beIN Media Group. This deal led to Cartoon Network Africa, Boomerang Africa, and TCM moving from OSN to the latter's beIN Network service, and also caused the HD feed on YahLive to shut down; the actual channel, however, is unaffected due to being a free-to-air channel on Nilesat and Arabsat/Badr. Cartoon Network Arabic was added to beIN as channel 138 as an HD channel, although the HD version was later replaced with the SD version on Arabsat/Badr. CNN International HD was removed from MyHD's channel list and moved to beIN as an encrypted HD channel along with the pay-only HLN which is in letterboxed SD, but CNN continues to remain available as a free-to-air channel on Nilesat and Arabsat/Badr in SD. However, subscribers to Etisalat and du's IPTV services in the UAE were virtually unaffected at the time. However, due to their direct relations with Turner, Emirati telecoms Etisalat and du continue to offer these channels to IPTV subscribers. Additionally, inVision in Saudi Arabia, Ooredoo in Qatar and Cablevision in Lebanon offer Cartoon Network and Boomerang as well.

On June 14, 2018, the Cartoon Network Arabic's broadcasting has ceased.

## Programming

### TV series

Animated programs aired include original Cartoon Network Studios productions like the *Ben 10* reboot, *Regular Show*, *Powerpuff Girls* reboot, *Uncle Grandpa*, *Clarence*, *Adventure Time*, and *We Bare Bears*, as well as programs produced by other studios (such as Hasbro Studios' *Transformers: Robots in Disguise*, Warner Bros. Animation's *Teen Titans Go!* and *Justice League Action*, etc.). The channel mainly airs animated cartoons from Cartoon Network Studios. Local productions like Mansour are produced and aired along with movies, shorts, live-action series, and shows from various other studios.

The channel is only available in Arabic, with no choice to switch to English or any other languages. This is due to the fact that the channel is a free-to-air TV channel aimed solely at an Arabic-speaking audience. The channel broadcasts a line of Cartoon Network's own shows dubbed from English. Cartoon Network Arabic has also offered numerous localized shows, such as *Mansour* and the Arabic version of *Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge*, which are the result of various partnership deals with local production companies, including the Dubai-based Lammtara Pictures (*Freej*) or the Jordan-based Rubicon Group Holding (*Ben wa Izzy*, *Tareq wa Shireen*). The channel often edits certain programs for content, cutting out certain scenes from them.

#### Past shows

* *Adventure Time*
* *The Amazing World of Gumball*
* *Angelo Rules*
* *Baby Jake*
* *Ben 10*
* *Clarence*
* *Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs*
* *Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz*
* *Dragons: Race to the Edge*
* *Justice League Action*
* *Mansour*
* *Mr. Bean: The Animated Series*
* *Nexo Knights*
* *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*
* *Pat the Dog*
* *The Powerpuff Girls*
* *Teen Titans Go!*
* *The Tom and Jerry Show*
* *Transformers: Robots in Disguise*
* *We Bare Bears*

### Films

Beginning on November 5, 2011, Cartoon Network Arabic began to occasionally air a selection of dubbed Cartoon Network made-for-TV films and specials at random dates. However, it was not until January 2013 that the channel initiated the signature *Cinema Cartoon Network* block to represent its films, albeit during weekends (as per the majority of Arab countries) on an occasional basis. The following is an incomplete list of films that have aired on CN Arabic:

* *Ben 10: Race Against Time* (premiered on November 5, 2011)
* *Destination: Imagination* (premiered on November 6, 2011)
* *Ben 10: Alien Swarm* (premiered November 7, 2011)
* *Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace* (premiered December 12, 2011)
* *Feli & Raffina* (premiered December 18, 2011)
* *Firebreather* (premiered December 22, 2011)
* *Stuart Little* (premiered in May 2017)
* *Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild* (premiered in July 2017)

### Arabic version of Cartoonito

*Main article: Cartoonito*

In 2011, Turner Broadcasting System Europe had announced that it would roll out its UK-based preschoolers' channel Cartoonito across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, increasing the brand's distribution to 125 million homes in 112 territories. On Cartoon Network Arabic, Cartoonito was launched as a morning block broadcast every day starting from September 4, 2011. However, the block was phased out in early 2014, with some of its shows no longer available (although *Baby Looney Tunes* broadcasts on Boomerang HD and *LazyTown* airs on CN Arabic late at night).

## Other versions and related channels

### Cartoon Network Arabic HD

On March 2012, Cartoon Network Arabic became available in true high-definition via the YahLive service. The channel was eventually moved under beIN Network's service after the exclusivity deal was in effect in January 2016. In May 2016, the channel was superseded in favor of Cartoon Network MENA and Boomerang MENA that were later launched in July that year, as they both feature an Arabic audio track.

### Cartoon Network Arabic +2

A two-hour timeshift channel variant launched on June 30, 2014 via the My HD pay TV network. It was terminated on January 2016 as a consequence of Turner Broadcasting System Arabia's deal with beIN Media Group. On June 14, 2018, Cartoon Network Arabic +2 ceased operations.

### Cartoon Network Hindi

*Main article: Cartoon Network Hindi*
On April 1, 2016, Qatar-based beIN Media Group, in association with Turner Broadcasting System Arabia, launched Cartoon Network Hindi exclusively via beIN. Cartoon Network Hindi provides children's animated programming to most South Asian expatriates in the Arab World countries outside of India. As the name implies, the channel is only available in Hindi, which is akin to the Arab World's own pan-aired channel.

On January 12, 2017, the channel was converted to HD and widescreen, in addition to rebranding to Dimensional.

## References

1. ↑ Cartoon Network Arabic free-to-air goes live on October 10th. Zawya (2010-10-10). Retrieved on 2011-02-09.
2. ↑ Cartoon Network Arabic launches. Digital Production Middle East (2010-10-10). Retrieved on 2011-02-09.
3. ↑ 10 October launch for Cartoon Network Arabic. Rapid TV News (2010-10-07). Retrieved on 2011-02-09.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Turner and beIN Media Group Announce Strategic Partnership Exclusively for the Middle East & North Africa Region. beIN Media Group (2015-12-29). Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
5. ↑ Hasbro Shows to Air in Europe & Middle East in 2011. *Raving Toy Maniac* (2010-12-13). Retrieved on 2011-07-19.
6. ↑ Turner Broadcasting to launch Cartoonito across EMEA. AMEinfo (2011-04-21). Retrieved on 2011-09-07.
7. ↑ Saundalka, Jason (2012-03-05). Cartoon Network Arabic goes HD. Digital Production Middle East. Retrieved on 2012-04-13.

## External links

* [http://www.cartoonnetworkarabic.com Cartoon Network Arabic Website