Turner Broadcasting System Europe Limited, a Time Warner company, has announced that Cartoon Network will launch a free to air Arabic channel later this year. This means that favorite shows such as Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force, Chowder and Secret Saturdays, will be broadcast completely in Arabic 24/7 for the very first time, right across the Middle East and North Africa.
With a reach of a potential 35 million homes in the Middle East and North Africa region, Cartoon Network’s decision to create an Arabic language channel is a bold move.
Commenting on the announcement, Chris Groves, Senior Vice President Business Affairs & MD Middle East for Turner, said, “There’s been a great deal of demand for Arabic content in this region, and launching a 24/7 Arabic Cartoon Network channel is a further testament to our growing investment in the region.”
He adds, “The new channel will take our offering to a whole new audience and we are confident that with the international success of the Cartoon Network brand, our characters will be able to meet the growing demands for quality content from the audiences without alienating our existing audiences on Cartoon Network English.”
Kids in the Middle East and North Africa region will be able to enjoy several of Cartoon Network’s favorite shows including: Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack and Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, in addition to the Middle East’s popular 3D animation series, FREEJ.
Alan Musa, Vice-President and General Manager, Africa, Middle East and Pan Region, adds, “It further re-enforces Turner’s ambition to build upon the business we have established in the Middle East and our commitment to investing in local talent.”
This announcement comes after previous announcements that Dubai-based Lammtara and Turner have signed collaborative licensing and development deals with Cartoon Network. These represent strategic partnerships between Turner and two key animation studios in the region. Under the deal with Lammtara, the studio and creator of FREEJ, Turner will licence and distribute Freej episodes and merchandise, and produce a local version of its original production, Skatoony, which will feature Freej characters, a first for the global animated channel. Rubicon, the studio and creator of Tareq wa Shireen and Ben and Izzy will be working with Turner to air these series on Cartoon Network. Both partnerships involve working on new ideas and series and the distribution of these and the existing series outside the Mena region.
