Freej grannies lead new Arabic cartoon channel

The UAE’s favourite grannies are the stars of a new television channel that goes on air later this year.

Freej, the locally produced show about life in an Emirati neighbourhood, leads a line-up of international shows on a new Arabic channel being launched by Cartoon Network later this year.

The new channel, to be called Cartoon Network Arabic, goes live in the last quarter of 2010, Chris Groves, Senior Vice President Business Affairs and MD Middle East for Turner Broadcasting System Europe, told Emirates Business in an email statement. He did not communicate a specific launch date.

“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,” Groves said in a statement.

The channel will be free to air, unlike its English counterpart, which is only available to those taking subscriptions from providers such as the Orbit Showtime Network.

All-time favourites such as Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Chowder and Secret Saturdays will all be dubbed into Arabic for the new station, which aims to reach some 35 million homes in the Middle East and North Africa.

“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,” Groves said.

Alan Musa, Vice-President and General Manager, Africa, Middle East and Pan Region, Turner Broadcasting said: “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.”

The news follows the announcement of a collaborative licensing and development deals between Cartoon Network and Dubai-based Lammtara, to distribute the show and related merchandise outside the region, besides using its characters in a local version of Skatoony, its part live-action, part animation fantasy quiz series.

Cartoon Network available in 22 languages, across 27 separate feeds, in 166 countries and in 248 million homes worldwide, the Turner statement said.