Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a group of Canadian specialty television channels based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The channels broadcast programming produced by or highlighting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including arts, cultural, documentary, entertainment, and news and current affairs programming.
Established in 1992 as Television Northern Canada to broadcast in Canada's northern territories, TVNC received a CRTC license as a television network in 1999—requiring that it be carried by all television providers nationwide. It relaunched as APTN on September 1, 1999. APTN was previously carried on terrestrial television, particularly in Northern Canada and the Inuit communities of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec.
As of September 2024, APTN operates two channels: the first—branded as APTN—carries programming produced in English and French, while a second channel known as APTN Languages primarily broadcasts programming produced in Indigenous languages.
History
Establishment
In 1980, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission issued the Therrien Committee Report. In that report, the committee concluded that northern Indigenous peoples had increasing interest in developing their own media services and that the government has a responsibility to ensure support in broadcasting of Indigenous cultures and languages. The committee recommended measures to enable northern native people to use broadcasting to support their languages and cultures.The Canadian government created the Northern Broadcasting Policy, issued on March 10, 1983. It laid out principles to develop Northern native-produced programming. The policy included support for what was called the Northern Native Broadcast Access Program, a funded program to produce radio and/or television programs in First Peoples' languages to reflect their cultural perspectives.
Soon after the program's creation, problems were recognized in the planned program distribution via satellite. In January 1987, Canadian aboriginal and Northern broadcasters met in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to form a non-profit consortium to establish a Pan-Northern television distribution service. In 1988, the Canadian government gave the organizers $10 million to establish the network. The application for the new service, initially known as Television Northern Canada, was approved by the CRTC in 1991. The network officially launched on over-the-air signals to the Canadian territories and far northern areas of the provinces on January 21, 1992.
National expansion and re-launch
After several years broadcasting in the territories, TVNC began lobbying the CRTC to amend their licence to allow TVNC to be broadcast nationally; they promoted the "uniqueness" and "significance" of a national Aboriginal service. On February 22, 1999, the CRTC granted TVNC a licence for a national broadcast network.On September 1, 1999, the network also re-branded as the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. It was added to all television providers across Canada. APTN was the first national public television network for indigenous peoples. The licensing gave APTN the same status as CBC Television, Radio-Canada and TVA. All Canadian cable and satellite television providers have been required to include it in their basic service. However, many cable companies outside the Arctic placed it above channel 60 on their systems, rendering it inaccessible to older cable-ready television sets that do not go above channel 60. The CRTC considered requiring cable companies to move APTN to a lower channel, but decided in 2005 that it would not do so.
In March 2008, APTN launched a high definition channel known as APTN HD; initially, APTN HD was a straight simulcast of APTN's Eastern cable feed, complying with the requirement that a specialty channel's HD simulcast must be 95% identical in programming and scheduling to its standard-definition feeds. In May 2017, the CRTC amended APTN's license so that APTN HD's programming would no longer necessarily have to mirror the scheduling of the SD feeds, as long as 95% of its programming had aired at some point on one of APTN's SD feeds. The network argued that this change would allow it more flexibility in scheduling programming on APTN HD to reach a broader audience.
In 2019, APTN launched APTN Lumi, a streaming service distributing APTN programming on the internet and streaming television devices.
Transition to two-channel service
In June 2023, as part of a CRTC license renewal, APTN proposed a restructuring of its linear services. It proposed a switch to two national feeds in high definition, with one predominantly carrying English- and French-language programming, and the other predominantly airing programming in at least 15 Indigenous languages. APTN stated that the new structure would allow it to significantly increase its output of Indigenous-language programming to as many as 157.5 hours per-week, and provide more airtime to language groups that were underrepresented on its existing schedule.In May 2024, the CRTC approved the license renewal and distribution changes, which took effect September 1, 2024: APTN will operate two channels, branded as APTN and APTN Languages. APTN will carry English and French-language programming. Programming in Indigenous languages will be spun off to APTN Languages, which will carry at least 100 hours of Indigenous-language programming per-week in at least 15 Indigenous languages. To facilitate the new service, the CRTC also approved an increase in APTN's wholesale carriage fee from $0.35 per-subscriber to $0.38.
Programming
APTN primarily airs programming highlighting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including arts and cultural programs, factual programming such as documentaries and docuseries, drama and comedy series, and news and current affairs programming. The channel also occasionally broadcasts mainstream feature films; in 2002, the network experimented with adding a sweepstakes known as Bingo and a Movie during commercial breaks.APTN primarily broadcasts programming produced in English, French, and Indigenous languages, such as Cree and Inuktitut. All Indigenous-language programming is presented with subtitles in either English or French.
Programs which have aired on APTN include:Acting GoodAPTN National NewsAPTN ContactArbor Live!Bears' LairBlackstoneBro'TownBones of CrowsBordertownBy The RapidsThe Candy ShowCashing InCaution: May Contain NutsChuck and the First Peoples KitchenCooking With the WolfmanCultural Craftsmanship: MoccasinsD dot HDr. Savannah: Wild Rose VetThe DeerskinsDelmer & MartaDJ Burnt BannockDon't EvenFirst Across the LineFirst ContactFirst Music and ArtsFinding Our Talk: A Journey Through Aboriginal Languages the world's first series in Mohawk language, three seasons Friday Night ThunderFugget About ItFuture HistoryGet Your Fish OnGespe'gewa'gi: The Last LandGhost Hunters of the Grand RiverGoing NativeGuides and GurusGuilt Free ZoneHard Rock MedicalHaudenosaunee Canoe JourneyHorse WarriorsIconsInconvenient IndianJasonLittle Big CommunityLittle BirdMaamuitaauMaking A SceneMedicine WomanMerchants of the WildMichif CountryMixed BlessingsMoccasin FlatsMohawk GirlsMoosemeat & MarmaladeMy TVNations at WarNative New Yorkernîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand UpNorth of 60North of NorthNorthern ExposureOn The Front LineOne Dish One SpoonOne With NatureLa piqurePetroglyphs to PixelsPow Wow ChowQueen of the Oil PatchQuerenciaQuest Out West: Wild FoodRabbit FallRed Earth UncoveredRez BluezSecret HistoryShadow of the RougarouShortland StreetSkindigenousSpirit TalkerStar Wars, A New Hope Storytellers in MotionTales from the RezThe Feather NewsThe Other SideThe Sharing CircleTreaty RoadTribalWarriors: TKOWater WorldsWentworthWild ArchaeologyWild Rose Vets
- ''Yukon Harvest''
Children's programming
APTN airs children's programming, primarily as part of the APTN Kids block and branding. This block ranges from ages 3-11.Original programmingAnaana's TentAnash and the Legacy of the Sun-RockAnimism: The Gods' LakeArtie the Ant aka The Adventures of Artie the AntBizouCG KidsChic ChocChumsCoyote's Crazy Smart Science ShowDoggy Day SchoolThe Adventures of Dudley the Dragon The EggsFire QuestFruity TalesGuardians EvolutionIndigenous Art AdventuresInukKagagi: The RavenLa Crosse GoalsLil Glooscap and the Legends of Turtle IslandThe LinkLittle BearLouis SaysMissy MillyMoukiNehiyawetanThe New Adventures of Lucky LukePlanet EchoQanurliThe RaccoonsRaven Talesrenegadepress.comRoad ScholarsStories of Our EldersTakuginaiTamanevugutTiga TalkTipi TalesThat's AWSM!The Nature ShowTotal Drama: Pahkitew IslandWakanhejaWapos BayWarrior Up!Wawatay Kids TVWumpa's World
Sports programming
On March 24, 2019, APTN simulcast a Sportsnet-produced NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes with commentary in Plains Cree, as part of the Rogers Hometown Hockey package. As a tie-in for the broadcast, Sportsnet also originated that week's Hometown Hockey on-location broadcast from Enoch Cree Nation 135 outside of Edmonton. On December 13, 2019, APTN and Rogers announced that they would broadcast six Hometown Hockey games per-season in the language over the next three years. After a hiatus, the broadcasts returned in 2022 during the 2021–22 NHL season, with most of the games now drawn from Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. APTN began to add a package of Inuktitut broadcasts in 2025.Budget
In 2023, APTN had an annual budget of $47 million.Distribution
APTN's service previously consisted of four feeds: separate national cable feeds for Eastern, Western Canada, and Northern Canada, as well as a national HD feed. The terrestrial feed, the successor to the original TVNC, was available over-the-air in Canada's far northern areas. It consists of flagship station CHTY-TV in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, semi-satellite CHWT-TV in Whitehorse, Yukon, and numerous low-powered rebroadcasters across the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Alberta, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.On August 31, 2011, APTN shut down 39 low-power television repeaters across the Northwest Territories and Yukon, representing nearly half of its over-the-air transmitters. Although this discontinuation was conducted on the same day as Canada's digital transition deadline in certain mandatory markets, these over-the-air transmitters were not subject to this deadline. None of the mandatory markets for digital transition were located the Northwest Territories or Yukon. APTN's 2013 CRTC licence renewal did not include any over-the-air transmitters.
In November 2016, CEO Jean La Rose told the Winnipeg Free Press that APTN was negotiating carriage for a U.S. service. He noted that there was a high level of interest among Native Americans for programming relevant to their communities.
| City of licence | Channel | Callsign | Notes |
| Chateh | 13 | CKCA-TV |
| City of licence | Channel | Callsign | Notes |
| Goose Bay | 12 | CHTG-TV | Has application to convert to digital as CHTG-DT on VHF 7 |
| Hopedale | 12 | CH4153 | |
| Makkovik | 12 | CH4151 | |
| Nain | 12 | CH4154 | |
| Postville | 12 | CH4152 | |
| Rigolet | 12 | CH4155 |
| City of licence | Channel | Callsign | Notes |
| Fort Good Hope | 12 | CH4200 | |
| Fort McPherson | 10 | CH4205 | |
| Fort Simpson | 14 | CH4202 | |
| Fort Smith | 10 | CH4206 | |
| Hay River | 12 | CH4160 | |
| Inuvik | 13 | CH4221 | |
| Norman Wells | 12 | CH4220 | |
| Ulukhaktok | 13 | CH2553 | |
| Yellowknife | 11 | CHTY |
| City of licence | Channel | Callsign | Notes |
| Arctic Bay | 11 | CH4196 | |
| Arviat | 7 | CH4158 | |
| Baker Lake | 12 | CH4156 | |
| Cambridge Bay | 13 | CH2550 | |
| Chesterfield Inlet | 6 | CH4213 | |
| Clyde River | 6 | CH4172 | |
| Coral Harbour | 4 | CH4197 | |
| Gjoa Haven | 13 | CH2552 | |
| Hall Beach | 12 | CH4214 | |
| Igloolik | 12 | CH4201 | |
| Iqaluit | 10 | CH4161 | |
| Kimmirut | 6 | CH4198 | |
| Kinngait | 12 | CH4157 | |
| Kugaaruk | 13 | CH2554 | |
| Nanisivik | 11 | CH4178 | |
| Pangnirtung | 12 | CH4162 | |
| Pond Inlet | 12 | CH4163 | |
| Rankin Inlet | 12 | CH4265 | |
| Resolute | 12 | CH4208 | |
| Sanikiluaq | 12 | CH4217 | |
| Taloyoak | 13 | CH2555 | |
| Whale Cove | 10 | CH4219 |
| City of licence | Channel | Callsign | Notes |
| Akulivik | 12 | CH4189 | |
| Aupaluk | 11 | CH4182 | |
| Inukjuak | 11 | CH4191 | |
| Ivujivik | 11 | CH4190 | |
| Kangiqsualujjuaq | 12 | CH4183 | |
| Kangiqsujuaq | 12 | CH4185 | |
| Kangirsuk | 12 | CH4184 | |
| Kuujjuaq | 12 | CH4195 | |
| Kuujjuarapik | 7 | CH4194 | |
| Povungnituk | 7 | CH4192 | |
| Salluit | 7 | CH4193 | |
| Tasiujaq | 12 | CH4187 | |
| Umiujaq | 6 | CH4188 |
| City of licence | Channel | Callsign | Notes |
| Dawson City | 9 | CH4261 | |
| Upper Liard | 11 | CH4167 | |
| Watson Lake | 5 | CH4169 | |
| Whitehorse | 11 | CHWT |
The Eastern Canada cable feed operated as the national feed until the Western Canada feed began service on October 2, 2006.
Advertising policy
APTN will avoid stereotypes and clichés when they choose advertisers.Former subsidiaries
APTN formed a number of subsidiary media companies which, in 2019, were spun offas a new company Dadan Sivunivut, "an arms-length, independent company with the responsibility to manage and expand the group of companies that had been established in the previous 12 years under the APTN umbrella".
First Peoples Radio
On June 14, 2017, a subsidiary of APTN, First Peoples Radio Inc., was granted licences by the CRTC to operate radio stations in Toronto and Ottawa aimed at urban Indigenous populations in those cities. The Ottawa station will broadcast on 95.7 FM and the Toronto station will use 106.5 FM. Both frequencies had previously been allocated to Aboriginal Voices Radio which had its licenses revoked in 2015. FPR had also applied for licenses in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver but the CRTC granted these to other applicants.First Peoples Radio Inc had originally announced that its two radio stations, CFPT-FM in Toronto and CFPO-FM in Ottawa, were to go on the air by June 2018 but later delayed its soft launch until October 24, 2018. FPR will produce and share programming with the Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation in Saskatchewan and Native Communications Incorporated in Manitoba and is also in talks with the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, which has been granted radio licenses in Edmonton and Calgary, and Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace), which operates an Indigenous radio station in Terrace, British Columbia, and has been granted a license to operate a radio station in Vancouver, about potential programming partnerships.
The stations first went on the air on October 24, 2018 at noon, branded as Elmnt FM.
In 2019, ownership of First Peoples Radio was transferred to Dadan Sivunivut. On September 1, 2025, both stations shut down.