Showtime Arabia

For the present-day company, see OSN.
Showtime Arabia
Joint venture between
KIPCO (79% stake) and
CBS Corporation (21% stake)
Industry Telecommunication
Fate merged with Orbit Communications Company into Orbit Showtime
Founded 1996
Defunct 2009
Headquarters Dubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Key people
 Faisal Al Ayar (Chairman)
Marc Antoine d’Halluin (CEO)
Products Direct broadcast satellite
Website ShowtimeArabia.com

Showtime Arabia, as it was called to distinguish itself from its U.S. counterpart (Showtime), was a subscription television service in the Middle East and North Africa. It was a joint venture between KIPCO (79% stake) and CBS Corporation (21% stake), CBS Corp being a minor partner.[1][2] The company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and had its headquarters at Dubai Media City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[3]

Showtime Arabia was one of the pay TV networks in the Middle East and North Africa.[4] 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 Orbit Communications Company into Orbit Showtime.

Technical

When SHOWTIME launched, it some of its channels were 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 channels over satellite and the OpenTV interactive platform that runs on primarily UEC set-top boxes.

Showtime Arabia Channel lineup

Showtime Arabia Channels* [5]
Category Channel(s)
Promotional Channel ShowToday
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 MBC+ Drama Style Network
Fashion TV Travel Channel
Kids Channels Boomerang Cartoon Network Disney Channel Middle East Toon Disney Playhouse Disney ShowKids (KidsCo)
JimJam (04 - 16 UTC)
Movie Channels ShowMovies 1 ShowMovies 2 Super Movies 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 – 7 Movie Channels – 5 Sports Channels – 5 Documentary Channels – 5 Kids Channels – 4 Pay-Per-View Channels – 3 Music Channels – 3 News Channels

Orbit Communications Company merger

On 12 July 2009 Showtime Arabia and Orbit Communications Company announced a merger[6] 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 70 exclusive channels featuring new movies, sports, series, Arabic content and international shows.

New customers can subscribe to packages featuring Showtime Arabia's and Orbit Communications Company'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.

Logos

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Showtime". Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  2. ↑ "Company Profile (Showtime)". Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  3. ↑ Showtime Arabia Channel Line-up with channel number!
  4. ↑ K.S. Ramkumar. "Showtime Arabia Introduces New Attractive Platform". Arab News. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "Showtime Packages". Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  6. ↑ Chiba Yushi (February 2012). "A Comparative Study on the Pan-Arab Media Strategies: The Cases of Egypt and Saudi Arabia" (PDF). 5 (1&2). Retrieved 13 February 2014.
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