A successful bid for national cable carriage could see the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network spending over $6 million on Canadian programming in its first year.

Although the crtc application for aptn won’t be gazetted until August, the applicant – the six-year-old Television Northern Canada, available to 100,000 subscribers in the Yukon, Alaska and Labrador – is committing to $6 million for original Canadian programs and acquisitions in year one, $600,000 for news production, $500,000 for versioning and $100,000 for foreign product.

A successful bid for aptn would see tvnc combine with the net to become one network going under the aptn banner. Currently tvnc picks up most of its 100 hours per week of programming without charge from its 12 member producers. Patrick Tourigny, director of regulatory affairs at tvnc, says the current acquisitions budget is almost nil.

Although aboriginal producers will be the main target for originally produced tv programming, tvnc chairman Abraham Tagalik says pitches from all independent producers will be entertained as long as the programming fits.

The intent is to offer licence fees at the threshold level to trigger other funding sources (such as the new aboriginal envelope in the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund). Licence fees will run $15,000 to $20,000 per program for high-profile, commissioned drama series or kids’ programming.

The numbers in the application are based on a financial plan with a year-one operating budget of $15 million. The projection comes in part from a 15-cent per subscriber fee-for-carriage from the cable companies. aptn is requesting carriage on basic cable.

Advertising is expected to bring in $700,000 during the first year. Also folded into the equation is tvnc’s annual Canadian Heritage allotment of $2.1 million. Off the top, 53% of the network’s overall budget will go to programming, rising to 61% by year seven.

National aboriginal programming

With a go-ahead from the commission, aptn will broadcast programming by and about aboriginal people in numerous aboriginal languages and versioned into English and French.

The schedule will include kids’ series, dramas and films featuring aboriginal people, docs, lifestyle programs, current affairs and educational programming.

‘We are making the argument that this is an opportunity for all Canadians to see their country through aboriginal eyes,’ says Tourigny.

‘There is huge crossover potential for non-aboriginal audiences with our drama and kids’ programs and newscasts.’

The Government of the Northwest Territories produces seven hours per week of original programming including Nunavut, a 13-part, half-hour drama series following the travels of a group of Inuit families in the 1930s. Inuit Broadcasting Corporation’s productions include the kids’ puppet show Takuginai. Northern Native Broadcasting’s Yukon flagship show is the magazine program Nedaa or Your Eye.

According to Tagalik, tvnc has submitted a technical plan for a northern uplink center in Yellowknife and is seeking a southern site, likely an existing aboriginal tv production center in Winnipeg, Edmonton or New Brunswick.

Basic cable carriage

Although a licence for basic cable carriage is considered a long shot, an aboriginal programming network is thought to have a better chance than most.

At the crtc Third National Network hearings in November 1997, tvnc contended that before another mainstream English-language network was given a national licence, consideration should be given to aboriginal programming.

In its February 1998 report, the crtc responded that it would consider tvnc’s national aboriginal network application as long as it reflected the diversity of aboriginal people in Canada, and commented that tvnc is ‘a unique and significant undertaking serving the public interest and the objectives of the Broadcasting Act’ and ‘such a service should be widely available throughout Canada.’

Producers Roman Bittman, Alanis Obomsawin and Jim Compton and actor Gary Farmer are among the members of an advisory group involved in the application.

crtc hearings are expected to begin in October. If the submission is accepted, aptn could begin broadcasting as early as September 1999.