Cable giants Discovery Communications and the Arts and Entertainment Networks are ready to battle with new military-themed channels.
A&E’s History Channel announced Wednesday that it has launched the Military History Channel, a 24-hour network devoted solely to military programming.
History Channel’s offensive comes just weeks after Discovery announced plans to convert its Discovery Wings Channel, with its aviation focus, to the Military Channel effective Jan. 10.
While American Forces Network will not televise either station in its entirety, the new breadth of programming will give AFN more to choose from for its existing stations, according to Larry Marotta, chief of television programming.
“We air military topics on our Spectrum channel,” Marotta said. “We basically cherry pick programs” from various cable stations.
Discovery said in a press release that it would take viewers behind the lines to tell “the personal stories of servicemen and women” as well as look at military technology, battlefield strategy, aviation and history.
A&E said its Military History Channel will tell of “great battles both famous and obscure,” code breakers and spies, “to the life of a soldier and the equipment used.”
