Uvagut TV gains national distribution approval for Inuit programming

Canada’s first national Inuktut television channel will soon be offered by cable and satellite providers across the country. 

The mandatory national distribution of Uvagut TV, which is operated by Nunavut Independent Tele​​vision Network, was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on Oct. 22.

The decision will remain in effect for the next five years. 

“This is a historic moment for all Inuit,” said Nunavut Independent Television Network executive director Lucy Tulugarjuk in an Oct. 24 news release.

Uvagut TV currently broadcasts original, Inuit-created Inuktut programming, such as children’s shows, films and current affairs, on Shaw, Arctic Co-op and local cable subscription services across Canada. 

It has more than 200,000 subscribers currently. But once Uvagut TV is added to the basic TV package on Jan. 20, 2025, it is expected to reach 10 million cable subscribers.

“As our elders pass away one by one, we are fighting against time to keep our culture, our beliefs, and language alive for our children and grandchildren,” Tulugarjuk said in the release.

“We believe Uvagut TV is so important to help preserve our language, culture and heritage.”

According to the CRTC broadcasting decision, Uvagut TV has committed to ensuring that at least 80 per cent of its programming will be in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun. 

The remaining 20 per cent will include content produced in other Indigenous languages spoken in Canada or around the world. 

Tulugarjuk had first applied for a broadcasting license to operate Uvagut TV in a July 2021 letter to the commission on behalf of the independent television network. The network needed formal licensing through the CRTC after exceeding 200,000 subscribers. 

In the letter, Tulugarjuk also requested for the channel to be granted mandatory distribution in Canada.

Tulugarjuk’s application was shelved until a public hearing held by the commission in Gatineau, Que., in June 2023 for both the Nunavut Independent Television Network and the Inuit TV Network, as both channels were applying for the same licensing and distribution. 

Inuit TV’s network was launched in May 2022 with $2.4 million from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. The channel broadcasts Inuit-created educational television programming in Inuktut dialects across the circumpolar North.

The commission decided against granting mandatory distributions to both channels, citing that their similar content “would make it difficult to differentiate between the services.” 

It was decided that Nunavut Independent Tele​​vision Network was better positioned to “provide more immediate service to Inuit,” with its longer broadcasting day and ability to produce higher levels of original programming. 

During the hearing and application process, Nunavut Independent Tele​​vision Network received 167 written interventions and nearly 5,000 signatures in a public petition in support of mandatory distribution. 

Notable supporters included Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and the mayors of Grise Fiord, Inukjuak and Baker Lake. 

Nunavut Independent Tele​​vision Network, which currently broadcasts from three of the four regions of Nunavut, also plans to create a community advisory committee, according to the released decision. The committee will have nine Inuit members, each from Nunavut, Nunavik, Inuvialuit, Nunatsiavut, and outside of Inuit Nunangat.

“We look forward to working with our Inuit communities to create this station, sharing creative work from Inuit that can be enjoyed by Canadians nationwide,” said Tulugarjuk.