CAN TV Celebrates 40th Anniversary, Reaffirms Commitment to Champion Community Centered, Hyper-Local Television

 

CAN TV Celebrates 40th Anniversary, Reaffirms Commitment to Champion Community Centered, Hyper-Local Television

CAN TV commemorates this milestone with expansions to signature programming, digital access and educational resources, continuing its mission to empower the diverse voices of Chicago

CHICAGO  – CAN TV, a community-access broadcast media center that offers access to hyper-local stories and educational resources in Chicago, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Since its founding in 1983, CAN TV has been dedicated to providing Chicagoans with meaningful programming, reflecting the diversity and vibrance of their community through its five local cable channels (CAN TV 19, 21, 27, 36 and 42) and streaming platforms.

With over 140 hours of original content every week, CAN TV creates and features public affairs discourse through a variety of signature programming including shows, documentaries, specials and podcasts. Some of CAN TV’s original programming includes In the Arena with host Darrious Hilmon, Chicago Newsroom 2.0 with host Andrea Zopp and Change Agents with host Sufyan Sohel. This year, CAN TV premiered The Marginalized: Working While Black, a special that explores the history of social and racial hierarchy in American society, and was a leading voice in coverage and town halls surrounding the closely-watched 2023 Chicago mayoral election.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone anniversary,” said Darrious Hilmon, executive director of CAN TV. “When I joined CAN TV a year ago, I was thrilled and honored to be a part of an organization that showcases the power of community media, and was committed to making community media even more accessible. For four decades, we have amplified the voices of Chicagoans, fostering a platform for local voices and stories that may otherwise go unheard. We look forward to continuing to serve as a platform for dialogue and storytelling for years to come.”

As CAN TV looks back on 40 years of dedicated service to the Chicago community, it remains devoted to enabling Chicagoans to partake in meaningful conversations while simultaneously expanding its programming and digital platforms. CAN TV prides itself on bringing community access television to viewers anywhere, anytime. Recently, the platform launched its streaming capabilities, accessible on the cantv+ app and on a number of streaming platforms including Roku, Fire TV Stick and iOS and Android devices. This has resulted in an impressive growth of more than one million live streams during Q1, aided by the launch of new signature programming that centers community leaders and storytellers in meaningful segments.

CAN TV also launched its Youth-Voice Digital Literacy & Storytelling Institute, which aims to narrow the generational gap between 16-24 year-olds and traditional media by amplifying youth voices that have traditionally been excluded from conventional media.

As it enters its 40th year, the community access network has premiered a new spring lineup of signature programming including Joy in the Breakthrough, featuring Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, and The Table On Air, amplifying Black Queer people and issues – all designed to connect Chicagoans to the people and issues that matter most to them. To stay up to date with new releases and announcements, and for more information on CAN TV, visit www.cantv.org.     

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

STARR Community Services International, Inc.