Mega-merger hearing slated

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing in December on the proposed $85 billion merger of communications giants AT&T and Time Warner.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the panel announced yesterday that the Dec. 7 hearing will focus on the planned merger’s impact on consumers. Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, and Jeffrey Bewkes, the CEO of Time Warner, will testify.

There is bipartisan opposition to the proposed acquisition by broadband and wireless provider AT&T of Time Warner, which owns CNN, HBO and Warner Bros.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has called on the government to block the merger. The Vermont independent and former presidential candidate warned it would “provide consumers less while charging them more.”