AT&T, Comcast, Dish and Public Knowledge are slated...

AT&T, Comcast, Dish and Public Knowledge are slated to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee on the future of video Wednesday, industry officials told us. Commerce announced the hearing, which will involve online video issues and media consolidation, last week but didn’t reveal witnesses. Industry officials say witnesses will include Dish Deputy General Counsel Jeff Blum; Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen; University of Nebraska College of Law professor Gus Hurwitz, who focuses on telecom and antitrust issues; Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman; and AT&T Chief Strategy Officer John Stankey. Writers Guild of America also will have a witness, the officials said. A committee spokeswoman declined to confirm or deny any witnesses. Commerce also invited Netflix, which “declined due to a schedule conflict that pre-dated the hearing,” a Netflix spokeswoman told us Friday. Comcast and AT&T are both in the midst of acquisitions -- of Time Warner Cable and DirecTV, respectively -- and Public Knowledge has advocated against both deals. Dish last week urged regulators to block the Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal and raised concerns about the AT&T/DirecTV deal (CD July 10 p10). The hearing will be at 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell.