Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Incorporated (APTN) has been given the green light from the CRTC to launch a new APTN Indigenous-language channel.
The CRTC on Tuesday approved a June 2023 application by APTN to amend its conditions of service so that its four distinct programming feeds — APTN West, APTN East, APTN North and the national APTN HD feed — could be consolidated into two high-definition channels — APTN and APTN Languages.
As a result of the CRTC’s decision, the APTN channel will soon operate on a unified broadcast schedule featuring programming in both English and French. The APTN Languages channel will focus on Indigenous-language programming.
“We are excited to create the new APTN Languages channel that will expand APTN’s reach, and enhance our services,” APTN CEO Monika Ille said in a press release. “This is a key moment in the history of Indigenous Peoples, and APTN has a fundamental role to play in protecting and revitalizing our languages. The CRTC’s decision is an important one and reflects recent amendments made to the Broadcasting Act to place Indigenous languages on a more equal footing with English and French in Canadian broadcasting.”
The CRTC also approved APTN’s request to have its mandatory per-subscriber monthly wholesale rate increased from $0.35 to $0.38. The rate increase and amendments to APTN’s conditions of service will take effect Sept. 1, 2024.
APTN had said in its June 2023 application that the wholesale rate increase was needed to support its proposed programming and broadcast feed changes. The Indigenous broadcaster noted the increase was not meant to provide funding to support APTN’s operations in the long term. In an August 2023 reply to the CRTC, APTN also said the rate increase was not intended to make up for a decline in BDU subscribers in recent years, but rather to partially address the impact of inflation.
The CRTC said in its decision that APTN’s economic arguments may not themselves justify the rate increase, but “the benefits of an increase to the broadcasting system, and in particular the greater availability and production of Indigenous-language programming, are enough to justify the proposed increase.”
The commission noted the policy objectives in the Broadcasting Act emphasize the role Indigenous broadcasters play in the Canadian broadcasting system. The objectives identify that the system should provide opportunities to Indigenous persons and programming that reflects Indigenous culture, in Indigenous languages. Furthermore, they highlight the important role of the broadcasting system in revitalizing Indigenous languages, the CRTC said.
As such, the approval of APTN’s proposed programming changes aligns with several of the Broadcasting Act’s policy objectives and, therefore, are in the public interest, the CRTC said.
The commission is now ordering licensees of BDUs to distribute the APTN and APTN Languages channels as part of their basic service from Sept. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2026, the expiry date of APTN’s broadcast licence.
As part of its condition of service, the APTN Languages channel will be required to broadcast a minimum of 100 hours of programming in Indigenous languages each broadcast week, at least five hours and 30 minutes of news and current affairs programming each week in English or French, and at least one French-language newscast in each broadcast week.
The condition of service for the APTN channel requires it to broadcast at least five hours and 30 minutes of news and current affairs programming each broadcast week in English or French, and to broadcast predominantly in English or French with a minimum of 20 hours of French-language programming each week as well as at least one weekly French-language newscast.
