Spacetoon TV ( ar, سبيستون or ) is a pan-Arab
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
that specializes in
animation and
children programs. It began broadcasting on 15 March 2000 and it is headquartered in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
with offices in Riyadh.
The channel targets children from 4 and up. Its late night block
Space Power
Space Power (SPTV) (Arabic: سبيس باور) was an Arabian TV channel featuring anime programs targeted at the youth audience. Based in Damascus, Syria, the channel began broadcasting on 8 March 2008 with content from the Al Zuhra Comp ...
is targeted at teenagers and young adults. The Spacetoon company also maintains a video-on-demand app called Spacetoon Go.
The Spacetoon company has had two now-defunct channels in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
,
Space Power TV
Space Power (SPTV) (Arabic: سبيس باور) was an Arabian TV channel featuring anime programs targeted at the youth audience. Based in Damascus, Syria, the channel began broadcasting on 8 March 2008 with content from the Al Zuhra Comp ...
and
Spacetoon English
( ar, سبيستون or ) is a pan-Arab free-to-air television channel that specializes in animation and children programs. It began broadcasting on 15 March 2000 and it is headquartered in Dubai, UAE with offices in Riyadh. The channel targe ...
.
The main Indonesian channel began airing on 24 March 2005 in
Jakarta.
It later became
NET.
NET (an initialism of News and Entertainment Television, stylized as NET.) is an Indonesian free-to-air television network that was launched on 26 May 2013. It replaced Spacetoon on terrestrial television. The channel's programming is focused ...
, and its broadcast remains on satellite television. Currently, there are three Spacetoon channels in Indonesia: Spacetoon, Space Shopping and
Spacetoon Plus
Spacetoon Plus is an Indonesian television channel, that specializes in anime, animation and children programs. It has a sister channel in the Arab world. The channel started airing in 2014 in Jakarta alongside Spacetoon and Spacetoon 2.
Prog ...
. In India,
Spacetoon India
Spacetoon India is an Indian media and licensing company. It was established in 2006. Spacetoon has more than 70 licensing deals, including for Crayon Shin-chan, Doraemon and Hello Kitty. The company also creates original intellectual property ...
exists as licensing company, but not as a separate TV channel. In South Korea, Spacetoon launched in 2005 but has since closed down.
Spacetoon is currently broadcast in 22 countries, and has an audience of over 130million viewers.
History
Arab world
In 1999,
Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation officially signed an agreement to broadcast a children's cartoon channel. On 15 March 2000, Spacetoon officially launched, but as a seven-hour block.
Spacetoon continued to air this way until the contract ended on 12 January 2002, according to a statement issued by the Ministry. Later, in 2004, Spacetoon moved its headquarters to Dubai and was established as an independent channel on Nilesat running 24/7.
In the Arab world, the majority of programs are dubbed in
modern standard Arabic
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA), terms used mostly by linguists, is the variety of standardized, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; occasionally, it also ref ...
. Spacetoon is closely affiliated with
Venus Center, a Syrian dubbing company which has historically provided the Arabic dubbed versions of the programming. Using modern standard Arabic in dubbing played a crucial role in maintaining the use of the dialect in childhood, which was especially significant given the context of emerging spoken
Arabic dialects
The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable varia ...
.
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
In Indonesia, Spacetoon officially launched on 24 March 2005. The network was founded by H. Sukoyo, co-founder of
TV7. When it was launched, Spacetoon broadcast from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
WIB. Later, broadcast timings were extended from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. When programming ended, a 10-minute section filled with animation, songs, or messages for children was shown. During mid-2011, due to financial problems, Spacetoon began broadcasting some home-shopping programs and alternative medicine programs.
In March 2013, 95% of Spacetoon ownership stakes were acquired by
Net Visi Media
PT Net Visi Media Tbk is an Indonesian media and entertainment company. Originally formed in 2004 as Putra Insan Permata, the company changed its legal name to the current one in 2017. Headquartered in Jakarta, its activities encompassed the tel ...
. On 18 May 2013, Spacetoon officially closed for terrestrial to make way for
NET.
NET (an initialism of News and Entertainment Television, stylized as NET.) is an Indonesian free-to-air television network that was launched on 26 May 2013. It replaced Spacetoon on terrestrial television. The channel's programming is focused ...
on terrestrial network, while Spacetoon broadcast in Indonesia still remains on satellite television.
In September 2014, Spacetoon split into two channels: Spacetoon and Spacetoon 2. Spacetoon 2 broadcast more cartoon and animation than Spacetoon, although it still broadcast some home-shopping programs. In May 2016, Spacetoon added another channel, Spacetoon 3. It had clearer audio than Spacetoon and Spacetoon 2, but was closed down on October of the same year. In November 2016, Spacetoon 2 was renamed as Space Shopping due to the home shopping programmes contributing the most revenue to the channel, which overall had little income.
Currently, Spacetoon has three channels in Indonesia: Spacetoon, Space Shopping, and
Spacetoon Plus
Spacetoon Plus is an Indonesian television channel, that specializes in anime, animation and children programs. It has a sister channel in the Arab world. The channel started airing in 2014 in Jakarta alongside Spacetoon and Spacetoon 2.
Prog ...
.
Programming
Planets
Each of the programs aired were divided in blocks, called "planets", one for each genre:
* (planet of excitement and mystery) for action series. (such as ''
Dragon Ball Z Kai
''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' (known in Japan as ) is a revised version of the anime series ''Dragon Ball Z'', produced in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. Produced by Toei Animation, the series was originally broadcast in Japan on Fuji TV from Ap ...
'', ''
Iron Kid
''Eon Kid'' () is the English title of the CGI animated television series produced by Daewon C.I. and Design Storm in South Korea and BRB Internacional and Televisión Española in Spain.
While the series is known as ''Iron Kid'' in South Ko ...
'')
* (planet of challenge and strength) for sports series and programs. (such as ''
Inazuma Eleven Ares'')
* (planet of imagination and thrill) for adventure series. (such as ''
Future Boy Conan
, also known as ''Conan, The Boy in Future'', is a Japanese post-apocalyptic science fiction anime series. It is an adaptation of American science-fiction writer Alexander Key's 1970 novel ''The Incredible Tide''. It was broadcast for twent ...
'', ''
One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual cha ...
'')
* (planet of laughter) for comedy series. (such as ''
The Fairly OddParents
''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him ...
'', ''
The New Woody Woodpecker Show
''The New Woody Woodpecker Show'' (titled ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' on-screen) is an American animated comedy television series based on the animated short film series created by cartoonist and animator Walter Lantz. It was developed by ani ...
'', ''
The Tom and Jerry Show'', ''
The Pink Panther
''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...
'')
* (planet of all colors) for animated movies.
* (planet of numbers and letters) for educational programs. (such as ''
Pocoyo
''Pocoyo'' ( in Spanish and stylised as ''POCOYO'') is a Spanish preschool interactive comedy computer animated television series created by Guillermo García Carsí, Colman López, Luis Gallego and David Cantolla, and is produced by the Span ...
'')
* (planet of heroes and adults) for preschool programs. (such as ''
Fireman Sam
''Fireman Sam'' ( Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...
'', ''
Bob the Builder
''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
'', ''
Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'', ''
The Care Bears Family
''The Care Bears Family'' is a Canadian animated series produced by Nelvana based on the franchise of the same name, and is the successor series to the series produced by DIC Entertainment. It was originally broadcast from September 13, 1986 to ...
'')
* (planet of time immemorial) (former, 2000–2013) for the historical series. (such as ''
Liberty's Kids
''Liberty's Kids'' (stylized on-screen as ''Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776'') is an American animated historical fiction television series produced by DIC Entertainment, and originally aired on PBS Kids from September 2, 2002, to April 4, 2003, with r ...
'')
* (planet of discovery and knowledge) for educational science programs. (such as ''
Inspector Gadget's Field Trip
''Inspector Gadget's Field Trip'' (onscreen title: ''Field Trip Starring Inspector Gadget'') is an American children's television series that is a spin-off incarnation of Inspector Gadget, produced by DIC Productions, L.P. in 1996. The series ori ...
'', ''
Secret Millionaires Club
''Secret Millionaires Club'' is an American educational animated series that aired on The Hub / Hub Network from October 23, 2011 to January 11, 2017 (Qubo telecast only). The series features famed investor Warren Buffett as a secret mentor to ...
'', ''
Operation Ouch!
''Operation Ouch!'' is a British comedy children's television series on the human body, showing what happens in A&E, what doctors sometimes have problems with and experiments. The first series of ''Operation Ouch!'' aired on CBBC in October 2012 ...
'')
* (means "emerald" in Arabic, planet just for girls) for series and programs for girls. (such as ''
True and the Rainbow Kingdom
''True and the Rainbow Kingdom'' is an animated children's web series produced by Home Plate Entertainment and Guru Studio in collaboration with American artist duo FriendsWithYou and Pharrell Williams' I Am Other. Based on the artwork by Frie ...
'', ''
My Little Pony: Pony Life'')
Censorship
Programs aired on Spacetoon sometimes have aspects that are censored from their source material. In particular, scenes can be cropped or truncated in order to avoid showing excessive violence to viewers. This has been seen in programs such as ''
Detective Conan
''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its cha ...
,
Romeo's Blue Skies
is a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation. Although "Romeo's Blue Skies" is the literal translation of the Japanese title, the official English name given by Nippon Animation is "Romeo and the Black Brothers". It is known in Arabic as "ع ...
,'' and ''
Hunter × Hunter
''Hunter × Hunter'' (stylized as ''HUNTER×HUNTER'' and pronounced "hunter hunter") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōn ...
.'' ''Hunter × Hunter'' was also subject to the censorship of the depiction of Zen Buddhism and Taoism as related to the characters' powers, with the censored version opting to present their powers as a science and martial art. Selective cropping and editing are also used to hide cleavages and remove innuendo.
See also
*
Animation International
*
Game Power 7, game publisher owned by Spacetoon
*
Spacetoon Go
References
Sources
*
External links
Spacetoon Arabic website*
*
*
* (Spacetoon Arabic page)
* (Spacetoon Indonesia page)
Spacetoon Indonesia website
{{TV Providers in Indonesia
Mass media companies of the United Arab Emirates
Arabic-language television stations
Children's television networks
Television channels and stations established in 2000
2003 establishments in the United Arab Emirates
Anime companies
Preschool education television networks