For the American-based Afghan television channel, see Ariana Afghanistan

Ariana TV, officially shortened as ATN, is a private television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

 based in Kabul

Kabul

Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, that was launched on 17 August 2005. Ariana TV is owned by an Afghan-American called Ehsan Bayat

Ehsan Bayat

Ehsan Bayat is an Afghan business entrepreneur from the New York metropolitan area. He is an ethnic Qizilbash originally from Ghazni, Afghanistan. In 1979 or 1980, he went to the United States and obtained a bachelor degree in engineering. His family was influential in the commercial section of...

, who also owns AWCC (Afghan Wireless Communication Company). It is the second most popular channel in Afghanistan after Tolo TV

Tolo TV

Tolo TV , is a television station, being one of the first commercial ones to operate in Afghanistan. Launched in October 2004 by MOBY Group, it laid the foundations for an accessible media outlet offering a big library of shows...

.

Programs

Viewers can call in live and talk to on-air presenters or request songs to be played on the network on a show called Entekhāb-e Bīnendahā, which means "viewer's choice" in Dari Persian

Dari (Eastern Persian)

Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized...

. Other music programs include Setārahā-ye Rangīn ("Coloured stars").

Many Indian dramas have been showed on ATN, such as Heena

Heena (TV series)

Heena is a Hindi TV serial that aired on Sony Entertainment Television, also known as SET Asia. The series began to air in 1998 and ran for five seasons, finishing in 2003.- Plot :The show is based on the trials and tribulations in the life of a woman...

 (2005-2007), Kumkum

Kumkum (TV series)

Kumkum - Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan was an Indian television soap opera that aired from Monday - Friday at 1.00pm on STAR Plus in India/U.S. and 10:30 am in the UK. Although it's an afternoon soap, certain tracks of Kumkum gained more TRPs than a Prime-time soap...

 (2006, aired, though unfinished), Banoo Main Teri Dulhann

Banoo Main Teri Dulhann

Banoo Main Teri Dulhann is an Indian soap opera that airs on Zee TV channel August 14 2006 through May 2009...

 (2007-2010), Zaara

Zaara (TV series)

Zaara is an Indian drama series, that was aired from 4 December 2006 to 20 June 2008. Zaara originally aired on Sahara One, and had also been aired on an Afghan TV channel called Ariana TV...

 (2009-2010)), and Khwaish

Khwaish

Khwaish, or so called Khwaahesh, was an Indian soap opera that aired on Sony Entertainment Television from Monday - Thursday at 7:30pm and on ARY Digital from Monday - Thursday at 9:30pm. It was telecasted in India and Pakistan. The serial concluded quickly due to its falling popularity...It is...

 (2010-2011). Currently, Bidaai

Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai

Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai was an Indian soap drama that aired on 9 October 2007 to 13 November 2010 on STAR Plus channel, every Monday to Friday. This show was really close in reaching the top ten shows of all time on STAR Plus...

 (2010-2013), Mitwa

Mitwa Phool Kamal Ke

Mitwa Phool Kamal Ke is a Hindi television series which aired on STAR Plus. It began on May 27th 2009 and ended on 29th January 2010. The story revolved around the orthodox practices that are prevalent even today in the Uttar Pradesh...

 (2011- December 2011),and Maayke Se Bandhi Dor

Maayke Se Bandhi Dor

Maayke Se Bandhi Dor is a soap opera that aired on Star Plus. Dor premiered on Star Plus on February 14, 2011 to October 2, 2011. The show is aired on an Afghan television channel called Ariana TV, where the drama is translated into Dari Persian. It got replaced by Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai...

 (2011- December 2011) are being aired.

59 Daqiqa, which translates to "59 minutes" in English, is a competitive cookery program where people must cook food in 59 minutes. The food is then rated by three judge panel.

The Afghan version

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Afghan game show)

څوك غواري چې شي میلیونر؟ , is an Afghan game show based on the original British format of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. It is shown on Shamshad TV.-External links:*...

 of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers large cash prizes for correctly answering a series of multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The format is owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television International. The maximum cash prize is one million pounds...

" is also aired exclusively on ATN.