APTN has announced premiere dates for its upcoming fall lineup, which kicks off Sept. 2 and features a slate of new and returning series.
New series include All Our Relations, a series that tells the stories of Aboriginal celebrities and premieres Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. local time on APTN East, West and HD starting Sept. 4, and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. local time on APTN North starting Sept. 8. Indians & Aliens, a documentary series about UFO encounters in the Cree lands of northern Quebec, premieres Tuesday Sept. 3 at 10 p.m. local time on APTN East, West and HD, and Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. on APTN North.
Meanwhile live performance show, Live From the Hundred Years Café, debuts Fridays at 7 p.m. local time on APTN East, West and HD, starting Sept. 6, and at 11 p.m. local time on APTN North starting Sept. 8, while animated series The Deerskins premieres Saturdays at 8 p.m. local time on all APTN channels, starting Sept. 7.
U=US, a series made by and for teens, premieres at 9:30 p.m. local time on APTN East, West and HD starting Sept. 3, and Thursdays at 4 p.m. local time on APTN North starting Sept. 5, and making its world premiere, Watchers of the North debuts at 8 p.m. local time on Sept. 5 on APTN East, West and HD, and at 6:30 p.m. local time on Sept. 8 on APTN North.
Also new to APTN are French-language series like Aux Frontières du pas Normal, a paranormal show that premieres Mondays at 4 p.m. local time on APTN East and APTN HD starting Sept. 2, and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. local time on APTN North starting Sept. 8, and Les Sioui Bacon, a series about an Innu family that relocates to Montreal, which debuts Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. local on APTN East and APTN HD.
Meanwhile, Hit the Ice, a Cree series that follows aspiring Aboriginal hockey players, premieres Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m. local time on APTN West and at 3:30 p.m. local time on APTN East, North and HD, respectively, starting Sept. 4. APTN will also begin to air French-language versions of classic North of 60 episodes on APTN East, West and North at 6 a.m. local time starting Sept. 2.
Back for a second season, Arctic Air premieres Wednesdays at 7 p.m. local time on APTN East, West and HD starting Oct. 16, and Sundays at 8 p.m. local time on APTN North starting Oct. 20, while season three of Blackstone debuts Wednesday Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. local time on APTN East, West and HD and Sunday Sept. 29 at 11 p.m. local time on APTN North.
Also returning are series like Down2Earth, Untamed Gourmet, Heartland and Samaqan: Water Stories, as well as Fit First Youth Edition and the French-language program Tam.
Jacqueline Jubinville, manager of communications, APTN, tells MiC that APTN will promote the upcoming fall lineup across its own TV and social network channels, as well as through microsites for individual series. It will also look to roll out external media buys on TV, online and in print for major series like Blackstone.
Andrew Kumpf, senior sales manager, APTN, says that ad and sponsorship opportunities will also focus heavily on season three of Blackstone, including placement in The Making of Blackstone, a documentary series that will air the week before the premiere, as well as in marathons of the first two seasons the Saturday and Sunday before the premiere, and around the premiere itself.
He adds that other shows APTN is focused on selling ad and sponsorship opportunities around, include U=US and Hit the Ice because they are aimed at the elusive youth and young adult demographics.