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28 March 2024

Nickelodeon stars can now be seen in the region

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Why, it's Spongebob!

Published
By Rachel McArthur

One of the world's best-loved children television channels, Nickelodeon, hit the big 5-0 this week when its Middle Eastern partner, Nickelodeon Arabia, became the 50th station for the network.

The free-to-air television channel, which is available on Nilesat and Arabsat, is expected to reach a potential audience of 190 million viewers across the region, airing an exciting variety of home-grown programmes, as well as original international Nickelodeon shows. "Nickelodeon is the first global kids' media brand to create a free-to-air Arabic service across the region," Bhavneet Singh, MD and executive VP of emerging markets at MTVNI, said.

"Adding the voices of Arab children to our worldwide Nickelodeon family is a significant milestone in the brand's history and we're proud to launch a service that's created just for them, reflecting who they are and what they want."

So what can young fans and parents expect from this new launch? Well, plenty of exciting shows are on offer, which will please children (and us big kids) alike.

Some of the programmes to look out for include SpongeBob Squarepants, which chronicles the adventures of a rectangular, yellow sponge that lives under the sea. Then there's Dora The Explorer, and her best friend, Boots the monkey, who invite viewers to participate in an exciting adventure.

Rugrats, meanwhile, follows the adventures of Tommy Pickles and his pint-sized pals.

Nickelodeon Arabia also includes a touch of homegrown programming, including Shoof Kids, featuring Nickelodeon's youngest presenter, seven-year-old Waed, showing her favourite home videos uploaded on shooftv.com. Finally, there's Jametna, where viewers can request their favourite shows from hosts Asala and Rani.

The Arab Media Group - which is behind Nickelodeon Arabia and shooftv.com - also owns Awraq Publishing, which publishes Emirates Business and Emirates247.com.