June 3, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Tracy Rosenberg, Executive Director, Media Alliance  (510) 684-6853

House Judiciary Committee Schedules Los Angeles Field Hearing on Comcast/NBCU Proposed Merger for June 7

Los Angeles, CA-With one week's notice, the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has announced a field hearing on the proposed merger between cable giant Comcast and the NBC/Universal broadcasting network.

The hearing will be held on Monday June 7th, beginning at 9:00am, at the Donald Loker Conference Center at the California Science Center at 700 Exposition Park Drive in Los Angeles.

The hearing, which was pressed for by merger opponent and Judiciary Committee member Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), will be open to the public.

The field event follows a 7-hour Washington DC hearing in February where Waters, among others, pressed Comcast executives on lack of diversity in both hiring and programming practices.

The House Judiciary Committee is beating the Federal Communications Commission to the punch, as, at the urging of Democratic commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, the regulatory agency has also announced the intent to hold field hearings on the mega-merger, with Broadcasting and Cable reporter John Eggerton writing on June 2nd the first hearing is likely to be held in Chicago on July 13th.

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 Clip from the hearing: