From [link to www.stripes.com]

Sun to disrupt AFN TV, radio signal in Europe
Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, March 7, 2010

WIESBADEN, Germany — American Forces Network radio and television signals in Europe will be interrupted up to 20 minutes at a time through March 13 due to the sun overpowering the network’s satellite signal, AFN said in an announcement.

Sun outages occur twice a year when satellites "eclipse" the sun and their signals are overpowered by solar radiation, AFN said.

Local sun outages occur when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, the AFN announcement said. However, depending on the number of satellite hops it takes for the AFN signal to arrive at its destination, some AFN customers may see temporary disruptions of their TV signal a few times during peak, sun-outage days