Asian Food Network

Not to be confused with Food Network Asia.

The Asian Food Network (AFN), formerly known as Asian Food Channel, is a Southeast Asian pay television channel and website owned by Warner Bros. Discovery International through its Asia-Pacific division. Launched in 2005, it provides a mix of food programming content primarily focused on Asian cuisine.

Asian Food Network

Country	Singapore
Broadcast area	Hong Kong Macau Taiwan Mainland China Japan South Korea Mongolia Southeast Asia (including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam & Philippines)
Headquarters	21 Media Circle, #08-01, Infinite Studios, Singapore 138562
Programming
Language(s)	English (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore & Hong Kong) Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese) (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore & Malaysia) Japanese (Japan) Korean (South Korea) Indonesian (Indonesia) Malay (Malaysia & Singapore) Thai (Thailand) Filipino (Philippines) Vietnamese (Vietnam)
Picture format	1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 480i/576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner	Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific
Sister channels	Cartoon Network World Heritage Channel HBO Discovery Channel TLC DMAX Discovery Science Eve Discovery Asia Animal Planet Food Network HGTV Travel Channel Eurosport
History
Launched	12 August 2005; 19 years ago (2005-08-12)
Former names	Asian Food Channel (12.08.2005 - 28.11.2019)
Links
Website	www.asianfoodnetwork.com

History

The Asian Food Channel was co-founded by Hian Goh and Maria Brown in 2005.^[1] The idea was conceived by Goh, an investment banker, and Brown, a journalist at the BBC, in 2004 to bring a food television channel to Asia.^[1]

Content for the network was originally purchased from overseas markets and included shows such as Meat and Greet and Singapore Flavours from Mediacorp.^[1] In 2009, it launched AFC Studio at Orchard Central in Singapore.^[2] It allowed fans to purchase branded merchandise and also used for original content creation such as Great Dinners Of The World and Big Break.^[1] By 2013, the network reached 130 million viewers in 12 markets.^[1]

Scripps Networks Interactive purchased the channel in 2013.^[3] It became part of Discovery, Inc. in 2018 when Discovery acquired Scripps Networks Interactive,^[4] Six years after the acquisition of the channel by the same company that owned Food Network, the network was rebranded as the Asian Food Network in 2019, with a larger focus placed on multi-platform content.^[5]

Programming

The Asian Food Network provides a wide mix of food programming content that are sourced internationally such as the United Kingdom, the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, as well as Asian specific content from Korea, Japan, China, Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

Most shows are subtitled, but English shows are sometimes subtitled in Chinese, like in SkyCable. Others don't have subtitles in English programming such as on Cignal.

References

1. "Asian Food Channel founders hit on right recipe for TV". The Straits Times. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
2. "Chef Diego Chiarini's Prawns Coated with Celery Recipe". Luxury Haven. 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
3. Scripps Networks Interactive acquired AFC Archived 26 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
4. Discovery Communications Completes Acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive; Changes Company Name to Discovery, Inc.
5. "Discovery Asia Pacific Unveils Asian Food Network: A Multi-Platform Evolution of The Asian Food Channel". Business Insider. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2019.