Showtime Arabia

Final logo, used from 1 April 2007 relaunch to 2009 merger
Company type	Private
Industry	Telecommunication
Founded	June 1996; 29 years ago (1996-06)
Defunct	12 July 2009; 16 years ago (2009-07-12)
Fate	Merged withOrbit Communications Company intoOSN
Headquarters	Dubai Media City,Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Key people	Faisal Al Ayar(Chairman) Marc Antoine d’Halluin(CEO)
Products	Direct broadcast satellite
Parent	KIPCO (79%) CBS Corporation (21%)[1]
Website	ShowtimeArabia.com

Showtime Arabia wasShowtime Networkspay television service in theMiddle East andNorth Africa. It was ajoint venture between Kuwaitiholding companyKIPCO (79% stake) and American media firmViacom Inc. (21% stake).^[2][3] The company was incorporated in theCayman Islands and had its headquarters atDubai Media City inDubai,United Arab Emirates.^[4]

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

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 atDubai Media City in theUnited Arab Emirates and itsuplink 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.

On 12 July 2009, Showtime Arabia andOrbit Communications Company announced a merger^[7] that created the "biggest Pay-TV platform" in theMiddle East andNorth Africa.

The newly formed company is an equal partnership that would offer seventy exclusive channels featuring newmovies,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 offerHD channels,video on demand and otherinteractive services.

* 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

• Showtime around the world
• Orbit Communications Company
• Orbit Showtime Network (OSN)

• Orbit Showtime Network's homepage
• Packages of Orbit Showtime NetworkArchived 2013-12-24 at theWayback Machine
• Viacom's homepage
• Dubai Media City
• NileSat Satellite

• 1996 establishments in the United Arab Emirates
• 2009 disestablishments in the United Arab Emirates
• Television stations in the United Arab Emirates
• Mass media companies established in 1996
• Mass media companies disestablished in 2009
• Defunct companies of the United Arab Emirates
• Mass media companies of the United Arab Emirates
• Direct broadcast satellite services
• Showtime Networks

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