Cartoon Network is one of two digital children's television channels that air animated series: Cartoon Network Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which serves the

Middle East and North Africa MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

division along with

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

; and Cartoon Network Africa (formerly known as Cartoon Network EMEA), which exclusively serves Sub-Saharan Africa. Both feeds are owned by

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

under its International division. The network began as part of the larger UK/pan-European service on 17 September 1993; the UK branch would separate itself in October 1999, but kept a nearly identical schedule until August 2001. Cartoon Network EMEA used to share channel space with

TNT Africa TNT is a pay television channel focused on movies. The network is broadcast in Africa under the TNT name (formerly TCM Africa until 2018), as well as in the Arab world as TCM MENA; the latter features its own schedule and optional Arabic subtit ...

; the latter would air from 21:00 to 06:00

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, while the former would run for the rest of the day. On 1 July 2016, an HD feed on beIN known as Cartoon Network MENA was launched, replacing Cartoon Network Africa in the MENA region. It features both English and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

audio tracks. In addition to being offered by various Gulf

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

providers (as well as Cablevision in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and most Cypriot TV providers except for Nova), Cartoon Network MENA also has a different management team, different branding and a fully separate schedule from Cartoon Network Africa.

History

The pan-European feed launched on 17 September 1993 as Cartoon Network UK/Europe, broadcasting all over the continent in English. A

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

-language audio track was added on 4 March 1994, along with those in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, Danish, French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

. The

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...

feed launched on 12 July 1997. In June 1998, the Southern European feed (serving France, Italy, and Spain) also debuted. A Polish feed launched on 1 September 1998. The

feed became independent a few months after the launch of the Southern European feed, while the

and French feeds split on 23 August 1999. On 15 October 1999, the UK feed officially separated from the pan-European version, during the time when the shared transponder analog feed on

Astra 1C Astra 1C was a geostationary communications satellite launched in 1993 by the Société Européenne des Satellites ( SES), now SES Astra. The satellite remained in service until 2011 and is now derelict. History Astra 1C was the third commu ...

became scrambled with VideoCrypt, and when the short-lived British version of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

launched. The Nordic feed (serving

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) was launched on 1 January 2000, with fully localized audio tracks especially for Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The Benelux Cartoon Network ceased broadcast on 31 July 2001, replaced by the pan-European feed and Dutch audio track the following day. Also on that day, the UK feed became completely independent of the pan-European feed. The Polish feed added Romanian and Hungarian audio tracks on 30 September 2002. A Russian audio track was added on 1 April 2005, and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

subtitles were added on 20 June 2005. The German feed launched on 5 December 2006, followed by the Turkish feed on 28 January 2008. On 1 October 2008, a feed for Hungary and Romania was split off from the Polish feed; the former later began to serve the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. The Russian and Bulgarian feed launched on 1 October 2009. The African website, CartoonNetworkAfrica.com, launched in 2010. Since the website redesign on 7 August 2014, it along with the other Cartoon Network website now. Cartoon Network Arabic launched on 10 October 2010, as the only EMEA feed that is completely unavailable in English. The Benelux feed relaunched in November that year, with the Dutch audio track removed from the pan-European feed at the same time. The Spanish feed closed down on 1 July 2013 along with the Spanish

Cartoonito Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and Block programming, programming blocks that target preschool-age children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish language, Spanish suf ...

; programs from both networks can still be viewed on Boing (which carries all CN shows in a block titled ''¡Findes! Cartoon Network''). A European Portuguese feed launched on 1 October 2013 in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, before arriving in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on 3 December. Cartoon Network EMEA switched to widescreen on 6 October 2014, and also rebranded with the CHECK It 3.0 graphics package on that same day. In December 2015, Turner Broadcasting System Arabia entered an exclusive deal with

beIN Media Group beIN Media Group ( /ˈbiːɪn/; Arabic: مجموعة بي إن الإعلامية‎, ''Majmū‘at Bī’in al-I‘lāmiyyah'') is a state-owned global sport and entertainment network headquartered in Doha, Qatar. beIN distributes entertainme ...

to supply the Arab world with all of the former's pay TV channels via the latter's

beIN Channels Network beIN Channels Network (; stylized as beIN) is a pan-Arab direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster owned by beIN Media Group, which is based in Doha, Qatar. Technology beIN had launched 6 multi-function interactive decoder ...

subscription service (including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies) starting on 1 January 2016. This consequently removed Cartoon Network and other Turner-owned channels from OSN's broadcast services from 16 January 2016 onwards, though subscribers to Etisalat and Du's respective pay TV services in the

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 ...

were unaffected. On 1 July 2016, Cartoon Network MENA was launched to replace the African feed in the Arab world, broadcasting in

1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the scre ...

HD with an Arabic audio track. The service features a different schedule, program line-up, and censorship rules (sometimes editing scenes which are untouched on the Arabic feed). It is also offered with Greek subtitles in Cyprus, effectively ending Cartoon Network EMEA's status as a pan-feed. Cartoon Network MENA's English-language website can be found at CartoonNetworkME.com, Another site, CartoonNetworkMENA.com, launched around the same time and serves as a hub where users can choose between the English- or Arabic-language versions. In June 2017, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KCFB), headed by CEO Ezekiel Mutua, ordered a ban on six cartoons airing on Cartoon Network Africa,

Nickelodeon Africa Nickelodeon (commonly shortened as Nick) is a South African 24-hour television channel owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. The channel was launched on July 1, 2008. North Africa receives the Arabic-language version of the channel Nickelodeon MEN ...

and Nicktoons Africa for allegedly promoting LGBT themes to minors. The shows affected were the Cartoon Network shows ''

Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...

'', ''

Clarence Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a l ...

'' and ''

Steven Universe ''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe ( Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral ...

'', in addition to the Nickelodeon/Nicktoons shows ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpar ...

'', ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American Anime-influenced animation, anime-influenced Animated series, animated television series created by Michael Dante ...

'' and ''

The Loud House ''The Loud House'' is an American animated television series created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only s ...

''. The ban appears to have been largely unenforced, however. On 18 December 2018, Cartoon Network Africa switched to high definition. In an interview with C21 in May 2021, WarnerMedia EMEA mentioned that they're looking to add programs for girls and family which consist of live-action and animated series.

Logos

File:Cartoon Network logo (1992-2010).svg, First Cartoon Network logo, used from 17 September 1993 to 20 April 2006. File:Logo Cartoon Network 2004-2010.svg, Second Cartoon Network logo, used from 21 April 2006 to 6 December 2010. File:Cartoon Network 2010 logo.svg, Third and current Cartoon Network logo, used from 7 December 2010 to present.

Sister channels

TNT Africa

Unlike other counterparts, TNT Africa is a movie channel that launched in Turner Classic Movies's place and inherited some of its offering. As of January 2021, AEW Dynamite airs on the channel.

Boomerang

Boomerang is a television channel which airs cartoons. Two versions of the channel exist; one for the Arab World, Greece and Cyprus (Boomerang MENA), and another for Sub-Saharan Africa (Boomerang Africa). It launched on 5 June 2005 as Boomerang EMEA. On 1 July 2016, Boomerang MENA was launched, replacing the African feed in the Middle East and North Africa; it airs in 1080i with English and Arabic audio tracks on beIN, and is also available in Greece and Cyprus, albeit with a Greek audio track.

Cartoonito

The morning Cartoonito block launched on 4 April 2022.

Boing

Boing is a television channel that airs repeats of programs formerly seen on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. It launched on 30 May 2015, as the fourth extension of Turner's larger Boing brand.

Toonami

Toonami is a television channel catered towards young adults consisting of DC animation from Batman, Superman and Young Justice. It launched in 2017 on Kwesé TV until the platform went defunct in 2019. Then it was made available on Cell C's defunct streaming service Black for that same year. In March 2020, the channel was revived as a 2-month pop-up channel on DStv thereafter it was made available full-time on the StarTimes platform after its closure. As of March 2021, Toonami can also be found on

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

, Intelvision, Azam TV and Zuku TV.

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Discovery, is a subscription television channel that airs documentaries related to popular science, technology and history. In a similar format to National Geographic and History Channel. Also in the DStv platform on channel 121.

Discovery Family

Unlike its american counterpart but much like its french counterpart, Discovery Family is a family-oriented specialty TV channel that launched in Discovery World's place and inherited some of its offering.

Food Network

Food Network is a television channel that focuses on both special and regular episodic programs about food and cooking.

HGTV

HGTV is a South African television channel on DStv that primarily airs broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate.

Investigation Discovery

Investigation Discovery is a television channel dedicated to true crime documentaries.

Real Time

Real Time is a television channel that airs lifestyle programming targeting to a female upper-class audience.

TLC

TLC is a lifestyle television channel which airs reality shows involving lifestyles, family life and personal stories.

OWN

The OWN programming block used to be airing on October 17, 2013, But the block was discontinued a few years later.

Travel Channel

Travel Channel is an African television channel that features documentaries, reality, and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the world. It also airs shows focusing on African animal safaris, tours of grand hotels and resorts, visits to significant cities and towns around the world, programming about various foods around the world, and programming about ghosts and the paranormal in notable buildings.

References

External links

Site that allows users to choose between Cartoon Network Arabic's website or that of Cartoon Network MENAOfficial Middle East website (in English)Africa website

Greece website
{{ArabicChildTV Children's television networks Middle East and Africa Television channels and stations established in 1993 Television channels and stations established in 1999 Television channels and stations established in 2016 Television stations in South Africa Television channels in Greece Television channels in Cyprus Mass media in Dubai