Cartoonito (Middle Eastern and African TV channel)

Cartoonito is the name of two children's channels that air animated series for preschoolers: Cartoonito Africa — broadcast in Africa, and Cartoonito MENA — broadcast in the Middle East and North Africa, Greece, and Cyprus. Both channels are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA.

Cartoonito
Broadcast areaMENA
Sub-Saharan Africa
Greece
Cyprus
HeadquartersTurner House, Great Marlborough Street, London, United Kingdom
Programming
Language(s)English (MENA and Africa versions)
Arabic (MENA version)
Greek (MENA version in Greece and Cyprus)
Picture format16:9 (576i, SDTV)
(Africa version)
16:9 (1080i, HDTV)
(downgraded to 16:9 576i for SDTVs; MENA version)
Ownership
OwnerWarner Bros. Discovery EMEA
Sister channelsCartoon Network
Cartoon Network Arabic
Cartoon Network Hindi
Boing
Toonami
History
LaunchedMarch 2005 (March 2005)
(as Boomerang EMEA)[1]
1 July 2016 (1 July 2016)
(as independent feeds)
Former namesBoomerang (2016–2023)
Links
Websitewww.cartoonitomena.com
www.cartoonitoafrica.com
Availability
Terrestrial
DStvChannel 302 (Cartoonito Africa)
AzamTVChannel 227 (Cartoonito Africa)
GOtvChannel 68 (Cartoonito Africa)
beINChannel 610 (Cartoonito MENA)

Background
Boomerang logo March 2005 – 14 January 2015
Boomerang logo, 2005–2015
Cartoonito logo 12 October 2011 – 1 January 2014
Cartoonito block logo, 2011–2014

Boomerang was launched in English for the Middle East and select African countries in March 2005.[1] On 5 June, the channel expanded to Europe, with audio tracks for Polish (though partial) and Hungarian viewers.[2] December saw the addition of a Greek audio track.

On 1 August 2007, the channel began broadcasting from the Astra 1K and Hot Bird 7A satellites in CIS and Baltic countries.[3] Select programs were also available in Russian.[4]

An Arabic audio track and a complete Polish audio track became available in 2008.[2] In January 2010, Boomerang expanded to Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro, bringing its total distribution to 9.5 million homes.[5]

The channel's African website, BoomerangTVAfrica.com, launched in 2010.[6] On 12 October 2011, a dedicated Central and Eastern European feed was launched, serving Poland, Hungary, and Romania and featuring audio tracks for each respective country along with English. Preschool brand Cartoonito joined both feeds as a morning and afternoon block. Despite the split, Boomerang continued to air in several European countries (such as Portugal and the Netherlands) until 2015.

History

As Boomerang (2016–2023)
Boomerang logo 14 January 2015 – 25 March 2023
Boomerang logo, 2015–2023

On 14 January 2015, the channel adopted the global rebrand and renamed itself as Boomerang Africa.[7] On 1 July 2016, Boomerang MENA – an official feed for the Arab world, launched to replace the African feed on the region's TV providers,[8] as well as in Greece and Cyprus. The HD channel carries a separate schedule and set of censorship rules, with three audio tracks: English, Arabic, and Greek. Boomerang Africa switched to 16:9 widescreen on 21 September 2016. On 4 March 2019, it began broadcasting in HD.

As Cartoonito (2023–present)

In Africa, Cartoonito was launched as a daily morning (formerly morning and afternoon) block beginning on 12 October 2011. The original block ended on 1 January 2014, but later returned on 4 April 2022, as part of the May 2021 relaunch.[9][10] On 8 February 2023, it was announced that Cartoonito would expand into a full-time channel in Boomerang's place on 25 March.[11]

On 22 June 2023, the broadcasters announced that Boomerang in the MENA would rebrand to Cartoonito on 4 September 2023, along with its Turkey and Nordic counterpart.[12][13]

Programming

Original programming

Acquired programming

Sister channels

Cartoon Network
Main article: Cartoon Network (Middle Eastern and African TV channel)

Cartoon Network is a television channel offering animation ranging from action to comedy for children aged 7–14.

Boing
Main article: Boing (African TV channel)

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 and GOtv 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+, Intelvision, Azam TV and Zuku TV.

See also

References
  1. "Turner Info - Press Office". 2012-04-15. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. "Boomerang zmieni się w Cartoonito [wideo]". SATKurier.pl. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. "Boomerang развлекает детей". old.telesputnik.ru. 2 February 2009.
  4. "Телеспутник • Просмотр темы - 1 июня встречаем новый пакет "ДЕТСКИЙ"". Телеспутник. March 21, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  5. "Boomerang widens CEE reach". Broadband TV News. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  6. "Turner takes wraps off new Boomerang website". Licensing.biz. 2010-06-23. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  7. "Turner Broadcasting announces rebranding of Boomerang". Media Update. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  8. "Turner Offers CN, Boomerang In Hi-Definition". Arabian Market. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  9. "Hello, Cartoonito! Coming in April to Boomerang Africa!". BoomerangAfrica. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  10. "C21Media » WarnerMedia eyes preschool originals » Print". www.c21media.net. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  11. "Cartoonito | Games, Videos & Downloads". BOOMERANG. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  12. "Boomerang MENA se může změnit na Cartoonito MENA". 22 June 2023.
  13. "R O Z H O D N U T Í O U D Ě L E N Í L I C E N C E" (PDF). rada pro rozhlasové a televizní vysílání: 5. August 17, 2023.
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