The National Association of Broadcasters Wednesday completed its merger with Association for Maximum Service Television, which had been the chief spectrum lobby for the broadcasting industry.
With spectrum, how to hold on to it or get top dollar for it, a key priority for NAB, the association's board decided back in March to bring MSTV in-house. NAB said four of the five MSTV employees have joined NAB, including Victor Tawil as senior VP and Bruce Franca as VP.
Former MSTV President David Donovan will be joining the New York State Broadcasters Association as president and exdcutive director, according to NAB.
MSTV was launched in 1956 with the charter to "battle to insure the highest quality television reception by preventing interference on additional television channels."
Among its credits, MSTV helped secure passage of the All-Channel Reciever Act, which required TV sets to receive UHF as well as VHF signals (before that it required a separate tuner). MSTV also was instrumental in the DTV transition, including helping convince the government early on to retain UHF channels for advanced services. That was crucial to the transition since UHF is a superior band for DTV transmissions, something broadcasters are emphasizing now as the government eyes UHF for wireless broadband.
