The House Communications Subcommittee will hold a field hearing on the proposed Comcast/NBCU joint venture July 8 in Chicago, five days before the FCC's planned field "forum" on the deal July 13.
Public interest groups called on the FCC to hold a field hearing, but so far it has been Congress that scheduled the hearings, with the FCC agreeing to a lengthy panel discussion and public input session, but not an official hearing.
The House Judiciary Committee held a field hearing on the deal June 7 in L.A..
No word on who will be testifying in Chicago at the subcommittee hearing, entitled "Comcast and NBC Universal: Who Benefits?" The subcommittee is headed by Rick Boucher (D-Va.).
The announcement came the same day that initial comments were due at the FCC on the deal.
