American Forces Network (Creator)

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We bring you home.

The American Forces Network (known as AFN or AFARTS for short) is a service of the US Department of Defense. It is based at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside, California. AFN is a broadcaster that provides radio & TV programming to service people and their families stationed outside the continental United States, usually far away from the signals of the U.S. radio and TV networks. AFN is a Reader's Digest of the airwaves, presenting the best programming from PBS, all commercial networks, leading syndicators, popular cable channels, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, and Canadian networks such as YTV, along with some original programming. The network is split into six channels as of July 2020:

Prime: Mostly programming from the Big Four broadcast networks and syndicated programming like talk shows and game shows.
AFN Spectrum: Similar to Prime, but with an emphasis on programming from cable networks, usually from regular cable, but occasionally dipping into premium cable such as Showtime (e.g. Billions) and even some streaming-exclusive shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and House of Cards (US).
AFN News: News programming, mainly sourced from CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
AFN Sports: Sports programming.
AFN Family: Comprises children's programming from Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Discovery Family, PBS Kids, Netflix, Amazon and qubo. This network is notable for airing several shows that are no longer seen on mainland U.S. television, such as Play With Me Sesame, Jimmy Two-Shoes and Wander over Yonder, as well as those subject to No Export for You in the country, like The Day My Butt Went Psycho!. During the evening hours, it becomes Pulse, a channel showcasing programs aimed at teens and young adults, similar to Freeform.
AFN Movies: Shows movies.

An interesting thing about the network is that it does not run any commercials at all. Instead, it runs public service announcements. Some of them are made by AFN themselves and discuss military life. Two famous examples of this are this PSA about attorneys that spoofs Hercules Unchained and this PSA about recycling, which has No Budget. Some of the other PSAs seen on the channel are ones made by the Ad Council that have also aired in the mainland (which is most noticeable on children's programming). Sometimes, ones made for specific channels in the mainland also air on the network, like the Fox Kids "Check Yourself" PSAs from the late 1990s, but they don't always air around programs supplied to them by said network.

Note: Since AFN's programming for the most part tends to revolve (especially in terms of scripted programming on Prime, Spectrum and Family/Pulse), the information kept here may not be 100% accurate at any given point.