Tomorrow, Public Knowledge President and CEO, Gene Kimmelman will testify before the Senate Science, Commerce, and Transportation Committee hearing titled, “At a Tipping Point:Consumer Choice, Consolidation and the Future Video Marketplace.”
The following can be attributed to Gene Kimmelman, President and CEO at Public Knowledge:
“Ever since the coming of Netflix and streaming services like Roku, Amazon's Fire, and AppleTV, it's been clear that online video can compete with traditional cable television. However, incumbent providers control the content and the infrastructure that new competitors need to provide service to viewers, and outdated regulations continue to protect incumbent business models. Congress must act if we are to ensure that online video providers are able to play by the same rules that promote competition for traditional cable and satellite video providers.
“Public Knowledge also believes that increased mergers and consolidation will threaten the viability of nascent competitors and endanger the emergence of innovative new video and other types of services delivered over the Internet. The proposed transactions are inconsistent with antitrust policy, the goals of the Communications Act, and the broader public interest. Therefore, these mergers should not be approved to further promote the future viability of online video services.”
Others to testify are as follows:
Mr. David L. Cohen
Executive Vice President
Comcast Corporation
Mr. John Stankey
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
AT&T Inc.
Mr. Gene Kimmelman
President & CEO
Public Knowledge
Mr. Shawn Ryan
Member
Writers Guild of America, West
Mr. Jeffrey Blum
Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
Dish Network
Mr. Justin (Gus) Hurwitz
Assistant Professor of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law
A link to the testimony can be found here.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.