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Showtime Arabia

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For the present-day company, see OSN.
Showtime Arabia
Company typePrivate
IndustryTelecommunication
FoundedJune 1996; 28 years ago (1996-06)
Defunct12 July 2009; 15 years ago (2009-07-12)
FateMerged with Orbit Communications Company into OSN
HeadquartersDubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Key people
Faisal Al Ayar (Chairman)
Marc Antoine d’Halluin (CEO)
ProductsDirect broadcast satellite
ParentKIPCO (79%)
CBS Corporation (21%)[1]
WebsiteShowtimeArabia.com

Showtime Arabia was Showtime Networks' pay television service in the Middle East and North Africa. It was a joint venture between Kuwaiti holding company KIPCO (79% stake) and American media firm Viacom Inc. (21% stake).[2][3] The company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and had its headquarters at Dubai Media City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[4]

Showtime Arabia was one of three Pay TV networks in the Middle East and North Africa,[5] it offered motion pictures, sporting events and original content, some of which was localized. It had the exclusive rights to broadcast the Barclays Premier League in the Middle East and North Africa. On 12 July 2009, the company announced a merger with competitor Orbit Communications Company to form Orbit Showtime Network (OSN).

Technical

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When Showtime launched, some of its channels included TMC, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Paramount, Style, Discovery and Hallmark. Gulf DTH F.Z. L.L.C. was the operating company behind the digital pay TV broadcaster, Showtime Arabia. Its broadcast facilities were based at Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates and its uplink teleport station is Samacom, the monopoly uplink provider in the UAE. Showtime Arabia used Irdeto Access Conditional Access technology to encrypt its DTH (Direct-to-Home) channels over satellite and the OpenTV interactive platform that runs on primarily UEC Multi-Media[6] set-top boxes.

Merger with Orbit

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On 12 July 2009, Showtime Arabia and Orbit Communications Company announced a merger[7] that created the "biggest Pay-TV platform" in the Middle East and North Africa.

The newly formed company is an equal partnership that would offer seventy exclusive channels featuring new movies, sports, series, Arabic content and international shows.

New customers can subscribe to packages featuring Showtime Arabia's and Orbit's programs, while existing subscribers will be able to either retain or upgrade their content. The company will offer HD channels, video on demand and other interactive services.

Showtime Arabia channel lineup

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Showtime Arabia channels (2008)*[8]
Category Channel(s)
Promotional & Free to air channels Showtime Promotional channel (before ShowToday), ShowToday, OSN Promotional channel, Showtime Mosaic
Documentary channels Animal Planet Discovery Science Discovery World Nat Geo Wild
Nat Geo Adventure
General Entertainment channels ShowComedy ShowComedy Extra ShowSeries ShowSeries Extra
ShowShasha BBC Lifestyle BBC Prime Super Comedy
America Plus E! Universal Channel Syfy Universal
Fashion TV Travel Channel Showtime Maghreb
Kids channels Boomerang Cartoon Network Disney Channel Toon Disney
JimJam (04–16 UTC) BabyFirstTV Nickelodeon ShowKids (it’s closed)
Movie channels ShowMovies 1 ShowMovies 2 ShowMovies Action
ShowMovies Comedy ShowMovies Kids Hallmark Channel Turner Classic Movies
Music channels MTV Music VH1
News channels Bloomberg Television CNN International CNBC Europe Sky News
Pay-per-view channels ShowCinema TVMAX 1 ShowCinema TVMAX 2 ShowCinema TVMAX 3
Sports channels ShowSports 1 ShowSports 2 ShowSports 3 ShowSports 4
Extreme Sports Channel
High definition Showtime HD
* 43 channels** + 1 promotional channel
** 12 general entertainment channels, seven movie channels, five sports channels, five documentary channels, five kids channels, four pay-per-view channels, three music channels, and three news channels

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Benjamin Birkinbine, Rodrigo Gomez, Janet Wasko (2017). Global Media Giants. New York: Routledge. p. 282.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "About Showtime". Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  3. ^ "Company Profile (Showtime)". Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  4. ^ Showtime Arabia Channel Line-up with channel number!
  5. ^ K.S. Ramkumar. "Showtime Arabia Introduces New Attractive Platform". Arab News. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  6. ^ UEC
  7. ^ Chiba Yushi (February 2012). "A Comparative Study on the Pan-Arab Media Strategies: The Cases of Egypt and Saudi Arabia" (PDF). アジア･アフリカ地域研究研究科 (ASAFAS) 京都大学大学院 – ASAFAS: Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies Kyoto University. 5 (1&2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Showtime Packages". Archived from the original on 7 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
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