The CRTC has granted approval for Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. to transfer its broadcast distribution licences to BCE Inc. as part of an overall $3.9-billion acquisition of the provincial provider. In a notice on its website Tuesday, the regulator said the transaction “does not raise concerns with resect to applicable Commission policies and regulations and that it does not trigger the payment of tangible benefits.” In a press release, George Cope, Bell president and CEO, said the companies “continue to make progress toward uniting Bell and MTS as...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is asking the CRTC to exempt a television service from being offered in a package to meet the commission’s basic TV mandate later this year. The telecom provider, which is in the midst of being purchased by BCE Inc., filed an application dated Oct. 21 to the CRTC asking for The Cult Movie Channel Inc. to be exempt because of the nature of its programming—"often portraying violence in a highly graphic manner,"...