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.
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