Racy AFN programming causes problems at Gitmo
Published: September 10, 2010
The recent introduction of eight adult-themed HBO television series into AFN’s late-night weekend lineup raised even more controversy than expected at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, where because of a time zone issue the often-explicit programming begins airing at the dinner hour.
Because AFN does not have a separate feed for Guantanamo, AFN Spectrum’s weekend lineup of uncensored shows — many of which include profanity, violence and nudity — has aired starting at 5 p.m., six hours earlier than it does in central Europe. Rather than wait for the local cable company to install servers that would allow some programming to be time-delayed, AFN announced Thursday that it will take the controversial shows off the air at Guantanamo until the problem can be addressed.
“We’ll be working to make adjustments to some of the AFN channels seen at Guantanamo Bay to make prime-time and late-night programming available to the prime-time and late-night audience,” said AFN spokesman Larry Sichter said in an e-mail.
About 300 children live on the base, said base spokesman Terence Peck. With 24 time zones across the world, the cost of scheduling programming for each time zone would be “astronomical,” explained Larry Marotta, AFN’s director of programming.
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