The Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network (APTN)
As TV and radio content became more widespread, community-based broadcasters and filmmakers produced shows in Aboriginal languages, delivered health and education services, and established administrative and media production expertise. Given the success of this work, during the early 1980s the federal government increased funding for Indigenous production companies.
As TV and radio content became more widespread, community-based broadcasters and filmmakers produced shows in Aboriginal languages, delivered health and education services, and established administrative and media production expertise. Given the success of this work, during the early 1980s the federal government increased funding for Indigenous production companies.
In northern Canada, this work developed into 13 Native Communications Societies that trained producers, create shows, and set up a distribution system called Television Northern Canada. These activities helped the Aboriginal broadcasters build capacity to produce their own programs. Over time these local efforts grew into larger-scale projects. For example, in 1981 the CRTC granted a broadcast license to the national Inuit political organization, the Inuit Tapirisat, which used it to found the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and Taqramiut Nipingat Incorporated. The Inuit Tapirisat mandated these two organizations to generate and distribute Inuttitut language content across the northern territories.
First Nations also built regional links among the Native Communications Societies. In 1983, the 13 societies produced 20 hours of Aboriginal language programming on radio and five hours of television programming each week. To extend the distribution of their content, some Aboriginal groups also began working with mainstream broadcasters.
Distribution remained a challenge in many remote communities. During the 1986 Federal Task Force on Broadcasting Policy, Aboriginal groups proposed a government-funded satellite distribution system to address this gap. In June 1988, the federal government committed $10 million over four years to develop a northern regional broadcast network. This initiative funded Television Northern Canada, which began broadcasting to 96 northern communities in January 1992.
But despite these successes, the federal government did not provide funding for Aboriginal content production. However, unexpected budget cuts during the 1990s struck hard. After the federal government cancelled their funding without warning in 1990, nine of the Native Communications Societies closed down during that decade.
After a broad public coalition emerged to protest these budget cuts, the government’s new Native Broadcasting Policy (1990) relaxed rules around content and advertising. The Indigenous broadcasters adopted a more commercial business model, expanding to new regions and shifting their content to attract a more general audience. Some commentators felt these changes undermined some of the things that made their content so unique, such as its close links with communities, its diverse and localized focus, and its ability to create media content in many Aboriginal languages.
Over time, these changes coalesced into a national network, called the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network (APTN). APTN is part of the basic cable package, meaning that all households in Canada that subscribe to cable service receive it.
APTN’s programs range from news and movies to traditional storytelling, language lessons, interviews with community Elders and leaders, and Aboriginal language content. The broadcaster also provides funding and distribution support to indigenous producers located in countries like the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. Today, it continues to be funded through a blend of subscriber fees, government subsidies, advertising, and contributions from funders.