On March 13 and 14, 2012 the New York State Broadcasters met with, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and the staffs of more than 15 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, the group met with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philip Verveer. Ambassador Verveer is responsible for international communications issues, including cross-border TV spectrum concerns.
Representing the New York broadcasters were Dave Davis (WABC-TV, New York City); Ramon Pineda (Univision Television Group, New York City), David Feinblatt (WLNG-TV, Long Island), Bob Krummenacker (WBNG-TV, Binghamton), Chris Musial (WIVB-TV, Buffalo), Chuck Carver (WATS/WAVR, Waverly), Dick Novik (NYSBA) and David Donovan (NYSBA).
During the two-day “meeting marathon” we discussed:
1) The importance of allowing private retransmission consent negotiations to continue without government intervention
2) The need protect citizens during emergencies by including FM chips in cell phones
3) The need to protect viewers by ensuring there is sufficient spectrum for over-the-air television station in New York
4) The negative consequences to radio of imposing additional performance royalty fees
The delegation did an outstanding job representing New York’s radio and television stations. Thank you!