MBC 3 is a free-to-air children's channel launched on 8 December 2004, and appeals to children under the age of 15. All foreign television animated programs have been dubbed into Arabic. The channel also produces its own original programmes. It was owned by the Middle Eastern company MBC Group.
MBC 3 started airing Nickelodeon shows following the closure of Nickelodeon Arabia in 2011. It includes Nicktoons such as T.U.F.F. Puppy, The Fairly OddParents and SpongeBob SquarePants are also present in the channel, but they are dubbed. The Nick Jr. Channel shows include LazyTown, Go Diego Go, The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, Little Bill, and Blue's Clues.
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.