It’s been over 20 years since APTN took to the Canadian airwaves. Now, the national broadcaster is taking a bold step forward to nourish its growth for decades to come.
This year, APTN will launch Dadan Sivunivut, a new corporation that will house the network’s for-profit/business units. The network is making the move to expand its horizons while honouring its initial mission of promoting Indigenous talent as a non-profit organization.
“We’ve grown quite a bit since we started in 1999,” says Monika Ille, APTN CEO. “We’ve branched out into music publishing, radio, production and other channels – all as a non-profit organization. We want to continue respecting that status while giving our business units room to grow. That’s why we started Dadan Sivunivut.“
Dadan Sivunivut will combine six of the network’s business units, representing a mix of media entities, Indigenous promotional channels and APTN’s non-profit radio operations. Through the new corporation, APTN hopes to explore new revenue-generating opportunities to support its growing portfolio of media services.
“We can’t forget that APTN is a non-profit organization: we can’t lose focus of our raison-d’etre,“ says Ille. “At the same time, we have to face the reality that audiences are migrating away from cable television to online content. As a result, we have to find ways of making up for those declines in revenue. Dadan Sivunivut is a way of raising revenue and supporting our ultimate goal, which is to give voice to Indigenous creators and give them opportunities to tell their stories across Canada.“
Dadan Sivunivut may be new to the scene, but APTN has ambitious plans for its future. The network hopes to attract new Indigenous artists, explore new audio and visual opportunities and secure its reputation as the premier source for Indigenous audio and visual content in Canada.
“Our goal is to be the go-to source for Indigenous talent” says Ille. “We want to use every resource available to bring attention to our artists and make those initial connections.“
That said, Ille and her team can’t do it alone. With the launch of Dadan Sivunivut comes a call for board members who can help the new corporation reach its full potential.
“We’re looking for passionate and driven people to be on our board. That means anyone with experience in broadcasting, business development, the music industry, governance, finance, or any number of skills who can take the concept of Dadan Sivunivut and run with it.”
Interested individuals are encouraged to apply for a position online.
No doubt, it’s a new day for APTN. And with dedicated leadership, support and Indigenous talent on its side, the network is confident that the arrival of Dadan Sivunivut will herald an exciting, new chapter for the network.