Nickelodeon Arabia to cover GCC and Egypt

Nickelodeon Arabia is to be launched across the Arab world at seven o' clock this morning – the first free-to-air children's channel on Arabsat and Nilesat.

The coverage of the Arabised channel, which is brought to the region by the Arab Media Group (AMG), is mainly in the GCC countries and Egypt, said Abdullatif Al Sayegh, CEO of AMG.

Though Al Sayegh did not reveal the value of the investment in Nickelodeon, he said: "The group has saved 40 to 50 per cent by investing through its partnership with Viacom to launch the children's channel than it would have cost to launch

it separately." The tie up with Viacom – one of the world's largest media houses with brands such as MTV, BET networks, Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures – also includes MTV Arabia and three other projects whose feasibility is currently being studied.

"Arabic dubbing has not taken a big chunk out of our budget. We are very happy with our collaboration with various dubbing agencies in Egypt, among other countries, and we believe it is our way of providing an opportunity to our partners in the market." Al Sayegh said.

"We are not interested in establishing an independent local dubbing agency in the near future, but if we find a valid need we will be looking into it," he added.

The free-to-air channel intends to generate revenue from advertising, events and sponsorships. "We are discussing the possibility of tying up with major events in Dubai during the next year," said Leila Al Maeena, Channel Manager.

Patrick Brais, Chief Sales Officer for Arabian Television Network (ATN), said the new channel intends to conform to advertising ethics for children, including placing restrictions and regulations for promoting food and beverages that are widely recognised as unhealthy.

"We haven't developed advertising guidelines yet, however we are in the process of framing a number of rules to regulate which advertisements are allowed in each programme, based on the audience's age group," Brais said. "Many of these rules are recognised and implemented by Nickelodeon International." Al Sayegh said the channel will refuse to advertise products that prove to severely affect children's health. International companies, especially in America, are now forced to provide correct information about their products. "There is a no chance of misinformation that could cause harm to a young audience," Al Sayegh said.

Nickelodeon is not the first Arabised international children's channel. Similar to other channels of its kind, it mostly features the content of the international network. However, according to Al Maeena, Nickelodeon Arabia has undergone a process of extensive pre-planning based on audience research that focused on Arab children's preferences and needs.

Al Sayegh said: "Our vision for this channel, for up to 50 per cent of its content, is to become a platform to feature the aspirations and talents of the Arab youth and children."

Al Maeena said: "As we expand we want to make sure we are in sync with the Nickelodeon International theme, but it still has to reflect the culture and identity of Arab children in the region."

The Arab Media Group owns Awraq Publishing, which publishes Emirates Business and emirates247.com.

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