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More than 60 federal, state and local leaders have written letters and/or statements in favor of uninterrupted programming

BY LINDA MOSS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

More than 60 elected officials at the federal, state and local level have written letters to urge WABC-TV not yank its signal from Cablevision on Sunday, including U.S. Senator John Kerry, Congressman Eliot Engel and New Jersey state Senator Paul Sarlo, the cable company said Thursday.

Cablevision again urged ABC Disney not to remove Channel 7 from the cable company's channel lineup, echoing calls from the various officials to keep the channel on while both sides continue to negotiate a deal.

Cablevision, which has 900,000 customers in New Jersey, and WABC-TV parent ABC Disney are at odds over so-called retransmission consent. Under that federal regulation, WABC-TV wants Cablevision to pay it cash compensation to carry the TV station, which offers popular programming like "The View," "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy."

In its press release, Cablevision said it will leave WABC-TV's channel position open and uninterrupted to ensure no loss of programming for customers unless ABC Disney pulls the signal.

Like Cablevision, ABC Disney has found support from lawmakers for its position against Cablevision. On Wednesday Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, a ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski not to interfere in business negotiations between two companies.

WABC-TV maintains that it should be paid for the high-rated, expensive programming that it provides to Cablevision, which then sells it to its subscribers.

Cablevision argues that it should not have to fork over fees for ABC programming that is available over the air and on the Internet for free. The cable company also points out that it already pays ABC Disney more than $200 million per year for its extensive array of channels - more than Cablevision pays any other programmer.

ABC Disney is threatening to remove its signal if it does not receive $40 million more each year from Cablevision and its customers, a 20 percent increase, for exactly the same programming, the cable company claims.

"We agree with officials at the federal, state and local level that ABC Disney should not pull the plug on WABC and should instead negotiate in good faith with Cablevision to reach an agreement that is fair for our customers," Charles Schueler, Cablevision's executive vice president of communications, said in a prepared statement.

"We want our customers to know that we will not pull this channel and we urge ABC Disney to make that same commitment," he said. "We pay ABC Disney more than $200 million a year, and now is not the time to demand $40 million in new fees for the same exact channels."

Public officials who have written letters and/or issued statements:

FEDERAL OFFICIALS:

U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts)

Congressman Joe Crowley (D-New York)

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-New York)

Congressman Steve Israel (D-New York)

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-New York)

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-New York)

Congressman Mike McMahon (D-New York)

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (D-New York)

Congressman John Adler (D-New Jersey)

Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey)

Congressman Steve Rothman (D-New Jersey)

Congressman Albio Sires (D-New Jersey)

NEW JERSEY OFFICIALS:

Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen)

Senator Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth)

Senator Robert Gordon (D-Bergen)

Senator John Kean (R-Monmouth)

Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris)

Senator Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex)

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Monmouth)

Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-Middlesex)

Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer)

Assemblyman Alex DeCroce (R-Morris)

Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Monmouth)

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth)

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union)

Assemblywoman Joan Voss (D-Bergen)

Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris)

NEW YORK OFFICIALS:

Senator Dean Skelos (R-Nassau)

Senator Martin-Malave Dilan (D-Brooklyn)

Senator Brian Foley (D-Suffolk)

Senator Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn)

Senator Craig Johnson (D-Nassau)

Senator Owen Johnson (R-Suffolk)

Senator Ken LaValle (R-Suffolk)

Senator Vincent Leibell (R-Westchester)

Senator George Maziarz (R-Niagra)

Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Westchester)

Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn)

Senator Steve Saland (R-Dutchess)

Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester)

Assemblyman Phil Boyle (R-Suffolk)

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester)

Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R-Hudson Valley)

Assemblyman Marcos Crespo (D-Bronx)

Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx)

Assemblyman Carl Heastie (D-Bronx)

Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffe (D-Rockland)

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn)

Assemblyman Dave McDonough (R-Nassau)

Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt (R-Rockland)

Assemblyman Mike Spano (D-Westchester)

Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Suffolk)

County Executive Ed Mangano (R-Nassau)

County Executive Steve Levy (D-Suffolk)

New York City Councilmember Erik Dilan (D-Brooklyn)

New York City Councilmember Oliver Koppell (D-Bronx)

New York City Councilmember Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan)

New York City Councilmember Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn)

New York City Councilmember Joel Rivera (D-Bronx)

New York City Councilmember James Vacca (D-Bronx)

Town Supervisor Mark Lesko (D-Brookhaven)

Town Supervisor Steve Neuhaus (R-Chester)

Town Supervisor Jon Wagner (R-LaGrange)

Senator Toni Boucher (R-Norwalk)

Rep. Larry Cafero (R-Norwalk)