The CRTC has approved APTN’s bid to get into high-definition programming, and the aboriginal-aimed channel says it will launch a new HD channel in the first week of March, running 17 hours of original programming a week.

The channel put in for the HD spin-off in the fall, and got the go-ahead from Gatineau in a ruling last week, though the move faced questions from producers at Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and cultural group Inuit Tapirit Kanatami about the availability of Inuit-language programming.

APTN noted that there is little HD programming available in Inuktitut, but argued that the new channel could help change that. APTN HD will be ‘an impetus for Aboriginal producers to begin creating programming in this new format,’ said CEO Jean LaRose in a statement.

The channel will not be a ‘must carry’ for cable and satellite companies.