Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will consider and report legislation during the Senate’s September work period, including the reauthorization of expiring provisions of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010. We look forward to continuing the productive bipartisan work of the committee and collaborating with our fellow members.

The potential merger of AT&T and DirecTV is part of an accelerating trend of consolidation in the video marketplace. It deserves careful examination. In particular, I want to understand the impact this transaction will have on rural America. I welcome the commitments made by the two companies to enhance service to rural America, but those commitments must be real and quantifiable, and the companies have to live up to their promises.

More broadly, consumers throughout the country are clamoring for more programming choice and lower-cost video options. Both companies must prove that the creation of yet another video and broadband conglomerate can be responsive to those demands and the broader public interest. And as consumers increasingly turn online for their programming, this continued upheaval in the video market means that Congress needs to look closely at how to foster more video competition, particularly through online video distribution platforms.