Dubai 33

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Dubai Channel 33, also known as Ch33 or Dubai 33, was a Dubai-based English-language TV channel aimed at the expat community. It started in 1977 and, for much of the 1980s, ran as a 12-hour service from 2:00 pm to 2:00 am on one of Emirates Dubai Television’s frequencies, with a children’s block. The exact switch times often moved during Ramadan, and it was the only free-to-air English channel in Dubai at that time.

The channel shut down on 23 December 2004 and was replaced by One TV, which later became Dubai One under Dubai Media Incorporated. Its popularity declined from the late 1990s as more English channels and other languages became available via satellite and cable (E-Vision launched in 2000). On 1 October 2002, Dubai Channel 33 began satellite transmissions (Arabsat and Nilesat) for a two-month trial, then became a free-to-air 24-hour channel on 2 December, though the 2:00 pm children’s block remained. Dubai One later attracted some expat viewers with more U.S.-style programming, though as One TV it kept much of Ch33’s original programming, including the children’s block, which was eventually removed.

Ch33 had a distinctive approach to programming, airing popular US shows, UK comedy, horse racing, and daily news, and every Thursday at 10:00 pm showed a Hindi movie subtitled in English. Later it added Australian and Canadian soaps and even broadcast the Zee Cine Awards in Dubai in February 2004. Content was heavily censored in line with UAE rules, allowing only Islamic programming among religious shows. The channel also offered a Gulfax teletext service, relaying pages from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on weekdays before regular programming began from 1989 onward.