Launch of Al Jazeera Children’s Channel

The pan-Arab children’s edutainment channel, “Al Jazeera Children’s Channel” (JCC), debuts in Doha (Qatar) on Friday, 9 September at 7 p.m. Paris time.

The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, in partnership with Al Jazeera Group, launched the Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC) from Doha (Qatar) on Friday, 9 September 2005 at 7 p.m. Paris time.

The new pan-Arab children’s edutainment channel headed by Mahmoud Bouneb will be broadcast free of charge in Arabic (simplified classical) in all Arab countries via the Arabsat et Nilesat satellites. It will also be beamed to Europe via the Hot Bird satellite. JCC, whose two production studios and broadcast control room are located in Doha, will also have five regional offices, in Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Rabat and Paris.

JCC will air 18 hours of programming daily during the week and 19.5 hours on weekends, including six hours of non-repeat programmes each day.

JCC’s very ambitious line-up will be entirely original and quite diverse. The channel will originate 40% of all its productions. Examples include:

• a daily discussion, multi-topic magazine and educational game
• a sports magazine and a weekly news magazine
• four monthly magazines on specific topics (science, health, multimedia, society)
• a show that “ties it all together”, featuring two virtual characters, the turtle Fafa for the youngest viewers and the robot Nad, who is the companion of JCC’s five hosts.

JCC will debut shows purchased from all over the world (animation, documentaries, comedy/drama, live shows, music) in the Arab world, dubbing them in Arabic. Lagardère Images International (LII), a Lagardere Active subsidiary headed by Jean Rouilly, is co-author of the concept and contractor for the feasibility study and the channel’s launch. LII is also partnering with JCC on the following:

• programme purchases
• the supervision of external productions and the channel’s graphics
• the management of JCC’s Paris office, for the production of European news reports for magazines
• the design of the channel’s website

Many other French experts, professionals and companies are also involved in the new channel.The French company Lagardère Networks International, a subsidiary of Lagardere Active, is handling its international distribution to cable and satellite operators in the Arab world and Europe.