Accessible Media
 | |
| Non-profit | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Products | Broadcasting, Post-Production |
| Website | AMI |
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is a Canadian non-profit media organization. AMI specializes in media for the blind, visually impaired, deaf and hearing impaired.
History
AMI was established in 1989 as the National Broadcast Reading Service (NBRS) on the Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee of the Status of Disabled Persons. The committee's report, "No News is Bad News," stated that vision- and print-restricted Canadians must have equal access to published news and information.
In 1990, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted NBRS a licence for VoicePrint— a radio reading service; the service launched on December 1 that year. In 1995, NBRS launched AudioVision Canada to supply described video services to various film and television projects. In July 2007, the CRTC granted NBRS's licence application for The Accessible Channel, a national specialty channel which would air all of its programming with described video and closed captioning.[1] The channel would launch in 2009.[2]
To reflect its expansion beyond VoicePrint with the launch of The Accessible Channel, 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 for easier cross-promotion, TAC was renamed AMI-tv. VoicePrint followed suit on March 5, 2012, becoming AMI-audio.[3] On June 21, 2012, Accessible Media launched the Described Video TV Guide, the first audio-described TV listings service for the blind and visually impaired.[4]
Services
AMI operates two main services, both of which must be carried on the basic tier of all digital television services in the country.
- Two
- French- and English-language general entertainment specialty channels with enabled described video and closed captioning - AMI-télé and AMI-TV.
- AMI-audio - an audio service that broadcasts readings of newspaper and magazine articles. The service is carried through both television service providers and online through AMI's website.
AMI also operates AudioVision Canada, a company which provides audio description services for other film and television projects, and Canada 360, a radio news service distributed by Sirius XM.
References
- ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-246". Canadian Radio-television and Communications Commission.
- ↑ Accessible Channel Launches with "Open Format'; Broadcaster Magazine; 2008-12-01
- ↑ "Accessible Media Inc. rebrands world-leading broadcast reading service for Canadians with disabilities: VoicePrint now known as AMI-audio". Press release. AMI. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ↑ AMI Launches TV Listing Service for the Blind, Broadcaster Magazine, June 21, 2012.