AMI-tv is a Canadian, English-language, digital cable specialty channel owned by the non-profit organization Accessible Media. AMI-tv broadcasts a selection of general entertainment programming with accommodations for those who are visually or hearing impaired, with audio descriptions on the primary audio track and closed captioning available across all programming.
It was launched on January 29, 2009 by a consortium of Canwest, Accessible Media and Bell Media. Later on, Shaw Media acquired Canwest's shares of AMI-tv in 2010 while the latter acquired Bell's shares in 2011 when Bell Canada gained 100% control of its channels. Accessible Media became the sole owner of AMI-tv in 2016 following Corus Entertainment's acquisition of Shaw Media. From that point on, AMI-tv airs some its selected original programming alongside imported programming from other properties.
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 (CRTC) as a discretionary "must-carry" service; it must be carried on the lowest level of service by all licensed digital cable, satellite television, and IPTV providers in Canada. On December 16, 2014, AMI launched a French-language 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, 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 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, 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' International Day of Persons with Disabilities 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 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. 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. 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.