 | |
| Broadcast area | Middle East and North Africa (main audience free-to-air) Horn of Africa (peripheral free-to-air via satellite) United States and Europe (pay-TV) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Programming | |
| Languages | Arabic English |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Timeshift service | MBC 3 +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | MBC Group |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 8 December 2004 |
| Links | |
| Website | mbc3.mbc.net |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| MBC Shahid | Watch Online (HD) |
| YouTube | Official YouTube channel |
MBC 3 (Arabic: إم بي سي 3) is a free-to-air Saudi Arabian children's television channel owned by the MBC Group. It targets audiences under the age of 15 across the Middle East and North Africa. The channel airs foreign animated programming dubbed into Arabic and also produces a range of original children’s content.
History
[edit]The channel was launched on 8 December 2004 at 10:00 am. Its branding was designed by the UK design house Turquoise.
On 8 December 2005, MBC 3 underwent a rebranding to mark its 1st anniversary. The update introduced a new mascot, a green cube named “Cubee.” The new look was designed by the German animation studio LIGA 01 Computerfilm and is considered the channel's most iconic design.[1]
MBC 3 began airing Nickelodeon shows in 2005. This includes Nicktoons such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Danny Phantom, all dubbed in Arabic. Nick Jr. Channel programming includes LazyTown, Go, Diego, Go!, The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, Team Umizoomi, and Blue's Clues.
On 18 September 2017, the channel received a major rebrand featuring a comic strip background, with on-screen graphics adopting a comic book aesthetic. This design is currently in use alongside the previous bumpers.[citation needed]
In July 2019, the MBC 3 website was rebranded from its old style to a comic-inspired design.
On 23 March 2020, MBC 3 updated its on-screen logo. The new logo resembled the modern design, but the number 3 was displayed outside the cube.[citation needed]
From 24 March to 22 June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, MBC 3 used a logo featuring a house on-screen and slogans معاكم بالبيت (With you at home).[citation needed]
In late December 2023, the official MBC 3 website was shut down and redirected to the official MBC Group website.
Programming
[edit]Censorship
[edit]MBC 3 is known in the Middle East for censoring scenes unsuitable for Islamic audiences, such as visual romance outside of marriage, kissing before marriage scenes, awkward angles of female characters, sensual scenes between members of the opposite sex, cross-dressed men, references to alcohol and gambling, references to non-Islamic religious content and visually-grotesque scenes. However, the channel does not have a proper consensus of its censoring policy, featuring cuts that are so heavily edited it renders plot continuities inconsistent.[2]