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AMI-tv is a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, English-language,
digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previ ...
specialty channel A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted ...
owned by the non-profit organization
Accessible Media AMI (Accessible Media Inc.) is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs, and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. The company operates three broadcast services: AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in Fr ...
. AMI-tv broadcasts a selection of general entertainment programming with accommodations for those who are visually or hearing impaired, with
audio description Audio description, also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely called a visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or te ...
s on the primary audio track and
closed captioning Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio po ...
available across all programming. Along with acquired content, AMI-tv also broadcasts original series on accessibility- and disability-related topics, and has occasionally broadcast simulcasts of news and sporting events in its open described video format. AMI-tv is licensed by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcast ...
(CRTC) as a Category A "
must-carry In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system. North America Canada Under current CRTC regulations, the lowest tier of service on ...
" service; it must be carried on the lowest level of service by all licensed digital cable,
satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna com ...
, and
IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...
providers in Canada. On December 16, 2014, AMI launched a
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...
version of the network, AMI-télé, under a second Category A licence.


History


Licensing

On March 27, 2007, the CRTC held a public hearing to consider twelve applications from applicants requesting mandatory distribution for their television services in the basic package of all digital television service providers in Canada. Among those twelve applicants was the National Broadcast Reading Service (NBRS), a non-profit organization that operates the reading service
VoicePrint Voiceprint can refer to the spectrogram of a voice. More specific uses include: * VoicePrint, as of March 2012 now AMI-audio, Canada's broadcast reading service * Voiceprint Records, an English record label * The stored template used to identify a ...
, which is also a "must-carry" service. The NBRS proposed a service known as The Accessible Channel (TAC), a 24-hour English-language channel that would be devoted to providing programming of interest to those who are blind or visually impaired, in a format accessible to those individuals. The NBRS believed that visually impaired viewers had difficulties locating television programming with
described video Audio description, also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely called a visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or telev ...
due to a number of factors, such as the small amount of described programming on Canadian television at the time (an estimated 3%) and difficulties accessing the second audio program (SAP) on which described video is typically carried (either due to a lack of knowledge, or television service providers being unable to correctly deliver SAP feeds to subscribers). As such, the NBRS proposed TAC to be a consistent location for accessible programming; TAC planned to broadcast all of its programming in an "open format", with described video occupying the primary audio track—allowing viewers otherwise unable to use SAP to listen to programming with described video. In conjunction with the channel, the NBRS also planned to maintain online listings of programs with described video across all Canadian broadcasters. On July 24, 2007, the CRTC approved the NBRS's application to operate The Accessible Channel; the commission recognized (as per an earlier report) that "television is a key tool for social integration for all citizens, including persons with disabilities" and that the low amount of described content on television (along with the technical issues NBRS cited) made it difficult for the visually impaired to find accessible television programming. The commission also considered TAC to be complementary with the
Broadcasting Act Broadcasting Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom that relates to broadcasting. The Bill for an Act with this short title will usually h ...
, which called for the introduction of accessible programming into Canada's broadcasting system as resources become available.


Launch

At a gala coinciding with the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
'
International Day of Persons with Disabilities International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992. It has been observed with varying degrees of success around the planet. The observance of the Day aims to promot ...
on December 3, 2008, the NBRS announced that The Accessible Channel would officially launch in January 2009. The organization also announced that TAC would carry
closed captioning Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio po ...
on all of its programming: while the CRTC's standard conditions of licence for digital services at the time only mandated that 90% of programming be captioned, the NBRS felt that committing to caption all of its programming was consistent with its goal to make TAC an "inclusive" service.Accessible Channel Launches with "Open Format'
Broadcaster Magazine; 2008-12-01
The Accessible Channel subsequently launched on January 29, 2009. To reflect its expansion beyond VoicePrint, the National Broadcast Reading Service was renamed Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) in 2010.Accessible Media Inc. rebrands world-leading broadcast service for Canadians with disabilities: TACtv now known as AMI-tv
AMI press release. 2012-01-30
On January 30, 2012, as part of an effort to unify AMI's services under one brand, TAC was renamed AMI-tv. VoicePrint followed suit on March 5, 2012, becoming AMI-audio. On December 4, 2012, AMI-tv launched a high definition feed on the MTS Ultimate TV service in
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
.


French version

In January 2013, when the CRTC opened a new round of applications for must-carry channels, AMI submitted an application for a
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...
sister channel of AMI-tv known as AMI-tv Français, which would have a similar format to its English-language counterpart. AMI justified the need for the channel by noting that the three provinces which host the majority of Canada's
francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
population—
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
—had above-average levels of vision loss and other vision-related conditions. On August 8, 2013, the CRTC approved the application; the commission recognized that given the impact of AMI-tv's English service, a French service would have an equivalent impact on Canada's francophone community. The service launched on December 16, 2014, as AMI-télé.


Programming

AMI-tv carries a general entertainment lineup of programming including
sitcoms A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...
, television dramas, films, talk shows, and documentaries. Although AMI-tv is primarily aimed at adults, formerly a limited amount of programming broadcast during morning hours was aimed at children, including such programs as '' Little Bear'' and '' Franklin''. The majority of programming on AMI-tv are Canadian productions supplied in conjunction with other major Canadian broadcasters such as the CBC and
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
; a smaller portion of programming is also sourced from foreign broadcasters and studios, but in any case, no more than 33% of its programming can be supplied by a single broadcaster, and at least 50% of its programming must contain audio descriptions produced by companies other than AMI. Until the launch of the dedicated channel AMI-télé, it also aired four hours a week of French-language programming in the same format. AMI-tv also produces and airs original programming, primarily dealing with accessibility- and disability-related topics. Examples have included its 2011 documentary ''A Whole New Light'', which focused on Canada's contributions to the research of
vision loss Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...
, ''Milestones of Champions: The Journeys of Canada's Paralympians'', focusing on the stories of notable Canadian athletes in the
Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...
, the cooking show ''Four Senses'', and '' Employable Me.'' In these programs, audio description is integrated into the programs' main dialogue and narration. AMI-tv has collaborated with other Canadian broadcasters to simulcast events on the network with open described video. In conjunction with
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...
, the network provided audio descriptions and simulcasts of coverage of events such as the
wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship si ...
, the 2011 federal election, the 2011 Gemini Awards,
Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
festivities in Ottawa in 2012, and the 32nd Genie Awards. In conjunction with coverage of the games carried by CTV and Rogers properties, AMI-tv also offered coverage of the
2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Ga ...
, including simulcasts of daily highlight shows with described video, and a daily program featuring interviews with athletes. The latter was hosted by AMI reporters Carrie Anton (who was a member of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
's gold medal-winning goalball team at the
2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...
) and Gary Steeves, both of whom are blind. AMI-tv's involvement in the Paralympics continued for the
2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were a ...
in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents i ...
, this time in conjunction with
CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-langu ...
and the
Canadian Paralympic Committee The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC; French: ''Comité paralympique canadien'') is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Parapan American Games. ...
. In September 2012, AMI-tv partnered with
Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was ...
to broadcast three
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
games with described video provided by
Sportsnet 590 CJCL (590 AM, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toro ...
correspondent
Sam Cosentino Salvatore "Sam" Cosentino (born March 16, 1971) is a Canadian sportscaster who currently works as a junior hockey analyst on Rogers Sportsnet. Baseball Cosentino attended Spring Arbor College in Spring Arbor, Michigan, where he played baseball an ...
, which included additional commentary such as explanations of on-screen graphics. Blue Jays president Paul Beeston praised AMI's involvement, stating that "to our knowledge, we are the first sports organization to have our games provided through this revolutionary approach to accommodating the needs of the blind and low-vision community." AMI-tv Blue Jays coverage was expanded for the 2013 season, with Cosentino joined by veteran sportscaster Jim Van Horne.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ami TV English-language television stations in Canada Digital cable television networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 2009 Disability mass media Public television in Canada