Country United Arab Emirates Founded 2015 | Language Arabic and English | |
 | ||
Launched July 23, 2008 (unrelated channel)
January 5, 2015 (related channel, as well as on OSN) Closed September 8, 2011 (unrelated 2008 version) Owned by Viacom International Media Networks Europe (Viacom) Picture format 576i (SDTV) (2008-2011)
1080i (HDTV) (2015-present) Owner Viacom International Media Networks Europe (Viacom) | ||
Nickelodeon Arabia is a Middle Eastern satellite channel for Arab children, teens and adults that is carried by the UAE-based network OSN. It is the official Arab arm of Nickelodeon and until 2011, it was the last remaining arm to retain the 'splat' logo that was used from 1984 to 2009 in the United States and 1993 to 2010 in Europe.
Contents
Overview
It was the second channel in the joint venture between Viacom International Media Networks and Arabian Television Network, part of Arab Media Group, the largest media group in the United Arab Emirates, after the successful launch for MTV Arabia (now known as MTV Middle East).
As of 2011, it was currently the only Nickelodeon channel worldwide that had not changed its logo from the orange splat to the orange text after the mother company's 2009 rebrand. Since late 2010, the channel had been suffering a frozen broadcast, broadcasting its usual programmes repetitively without any evidence of upcoming updates. Its official website went down, and there were no clear indications or citations for why the channel was being heavily neglected, albeit oddly remaining live for the time being. Regardless, the channel remained live for many months into 2011. A similar situation was happening with its sister channel MTV Arabia.
On September 8, 2011, at one minute past midnight in U.A.E. time, and without a mainstream warning, the channel went on an indefinite hiatus without any explanation. The broadcast signal initially displayed nothing but a static message indicating Nickelodeon Arabia's viewers to continue watching Nickelodeon programmes via the Nickelodeon block on MBC 3. The signal then reverted to a casual test card a few days later, and the channel was de-listed by various satellite television providers. As of 2011, the signal itself disappeared completely.
Rumours surfaced that indicated that the channel was not defunct, but was being reworked (probably including the newer typographical logo in the process) and would be re-launched in 2015. Some reports also indicated there was a possibility the channel would return as a scrambled signal, only accessible by subscription via Orbit Showtime. Reasons for this remain unclear, but it was reported that the channel's Arab owners have filed for bankruptcy, and resold the Nickelodeon franchise back to Europe.
On December 17, 2014, it was announced that Viacom International Media Networks would launch a related feed of Nickelodeon Arabia (also in HD) on the Dubai-based pay-TV service OSN, along with a Nick Jr. channel. Both channels launched on January 5, 2015 in Arabic only, but launched in dual language, in both Arabic and English, in February 2015. A dedicated Nickelodeon website, social media accounts and an exclusive Nick app were launched.
On January 5, 2015, Nickelodeon Arabia returned on Orbit Showtime Network (OSN) as a related version/part of their children/pre-teen Pay-TV channels.
NickToons
Nicktoons is a satellite channel for Arab kids that airs animated Nickelodeon shows dubbed in Arabic. It airs reruns of old Nickelodeon programming in Arabic. The channel launched on February 15, 2017 on OSN.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. is a satellite channel for Arab kids that airs Nick Jr. pre-school shows dubbed in Arabic. The channel launched on January 5, 2015 on OSN along with Nickelodeon Arabia.
Programming
The animated shows featured on Nickelodeon Arabia are all dubbed into Arabic, and by far there are currently no means of switching between audio languages. The live-action TeenNick shows aired in English with Arabic subtitles. However, original social shows produced by Nickelodeon Arabia's own studio, such as Shoof Kids and Jamaatna, were also in Arabic.
Most of the network shows were outdated, older series at the time that have already been cancelled or have ended before their debut, although they are considered fairly never-before-seen by most of the Arab audience at one time, in either their English or Arabic formats. There were even several series yet to debut on Nickelodeon Arabia, with exception of The Fairly OddParents, which apparently already settled on the Middle Eastern Disney Channel. Although Fairly OddParent characters did appear in activity segments from Nickelodeon Magazine cutouts.
Like most Arab channels, Nickelodeon did feature censorship, but this is by far limited to simply scenes of French kissing, although any mention of said kisses are retained. This was similar to the censorship on MTV Arabia, but after the relaunch, there is no censorship.
Current Shows on Nickelodeon (OSN)
Source : Nickelodeon HD on OSN website
Current Shows on Nick Jr.
Source : Nick Jr. on OSN website
Current Shows on NickToons
Former programming on Nickelodeon's unrelated Channel
Former Nick Jr. programming
Filler shows
The following short-slot shows appeared as fillers in-between the prime shows and during commercial breaks:
Catch Match
Catch Match (كاتش ماتش) was an original programme for Nickelodeon Arabia that was renewed every holy month of Ramadan. It was a kids' game show that had two opposing teams compete in a variety of physical challenges to gain the most points. This show was hosted by the announcer Taj Aser, and was filmed on location in Jeddah.
Shoof Kids
Shoof Kids was an original show that featured home-made videos sent in by viewers.