Futur et Médias Podcast E01: How APTN Is Broadening Its Horizons in the Era of Over-the-Top TV

Two decades after its inception, what are the challenges facing APTN? What are the opportunities that the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network will seize to secure a bright future for itself? Executive Director of Programming and Scheduling, Monika Ille, shares her perspective on APTN’s future on the dawn of its 20th anniversary.

Listen on:

*Futur et médias is the French-language iteration of Now & Next, the Canada Media Fund’s English-language podcast. A translated transcription will be provided shortly for listeners who could use some help with la langue de Molière.

Digital distribution: A look at the reflections taking place within APTN

The first national indigenous broadcaster in the world, APTN finds itself – like many others – at the confluence of several media macro-trends. Broadcasting distribution undertakings’ revenue and subscribers are on a downward trajectory – incidentally, so are cable channels’. Advertisers are taking their advertising budgets to the internet. Over-the-top television services, led with Netflix in the lead, seduce millions of Canadians who, for their part, spend an increasing amount of their time online.

In this context, what can a broadcaster bet on to reinvent its distribution model, stand out from the competition and create a prosperous future for itself?

In this episode, the Canada Media Fund’s Director of Industry and Market Trends, Catherine Mathys, welcomes APTN’s Executive Director of Programming and Scheduling, Monika Ille, to the studio to discuss:

  • How APTN’s content helps the broadcaster make a name for itself (4:34);
  • The challenges facing APTN (5:25);
  • APTN’s strategic reflection towards launching an eventual OTT television service (9:38);
  • Alliances and collaboration between broadcasters in today’s media environment (16:45).

Access an English-language transcript of the episode here

Dig deeper

  • A detailed portrait of various metrics discussed in the episode (BDU revenue and subscribers, time spent online and OTT use, among others) is available in the Canada Media Fund’s 2019 trends report.
  • In this episode, Monika Ille points out that there will be close to 50 OTT TV services available to Canadians in 2020. This figure comes from a report that Danielle Desjardins sliced and diced in an article that you can read over on our blog.
  • First Contact, a show mentioned during the episode, can be watched online on APTN’s website.
  • Listen to the Canada Media Fund's English-language podcast's episode on digital distribution of audiovisual content, Now & Next - Inside YouTube: Beyond Dogs on Skateboards and Viral Videos

Credits

Clips used within the episode were sampled from the following videos:

4:17 – Courtesy of APTN
5:05APTN national news
13:18APTN mini promo 
17:56Promo First Contact

About Futur et médias

Futur et médias is a podcast featuring in depth interviews with experts for a closer look at emerging trends and the digital transformation of the media and entertainment industries. Futur et médias is produced by the Canada Media Fund and hosted by the organization’s Director of Industry and Market Trends, Catherine Mathys.