The chairman of CNY Central's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, has promised support to President Donald Trump several times, according to a new report.

Sinclair chairman David D. Smith told The Guardian that he met with Trump at the White House to pitch a new broadcasting standard known as Next Gen TV. The technology update to the current standard, ATSC over-the-air broadcasting, would merge broadcast television with internet content via chips for TVs, cell phones and other devices.

The chips would allow authorities, including the U.S. president, to broadcast directly to any American's phone -- even when phone lines are down.

"I just wanted them to be aware of the technology," Smith told the UK newspaper in an interview published Tuesday.

Smith also said he met with Trump during the 2016 election and offered support.

"We are here to deliver your message," Smith recalled telling the future president.

Sinclair Broadcast Group is the nation's largest owner of local television stations, including CNY Central's NBC 3 (WSTM-TV), CW 6 (WSTQ) and CBS 5 (WTVH) in Syracuse. The company has come under fire recently for forcing anchors to read a message echoing Trump's frequent attacks on the "fake news" media.

"The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media," Michael Benny and Allison Bybee said on CNY Central last month. "Some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda... This is extremely dangerous to our democracy."

Critics have accused Sinclair of pushing a right-leaning agenda by requiring its stations to air video segments called "must-runs," including a "Terrorism Alert Desk" and conservative commentary by former Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn. Backlash escalated when local anchors, including at Sinclair stations in Buffalo, Rochester and Albany, were shown reading the same script last month and pushing the company's message themselves.

The Guardian reports a broadcasting industry group, which includes Sinclair, has been lobbying for Next Gen TV chips to be incorporated in all devices. Sinclair said the government may need to consider making it compulsory, but the FCC decided in November to make the chips voluntary.

Smith told the publication that the chips can allow U.S. officials to target individual cell phones or select lists, including all devices in a specific area.

"The public interest aspect is enormous in terms of the lives it will save," Smith said. "If you were Rudy Giuliani on 9/11, you would have turned on your desktop, typed in an access code, and gone live to every phone or pad or device in the marketplace in seconds."

Sinclair has denied pushing a conservative bias and denied giving Trump special treatment.

Smith told the Guardian he was "pissed off" that White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly claimed to reach an agreement to give Sinclair more access to Trump during the 2016 election. President Donald Trump, however, has still publicly shown favor to Sinclair.

"The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast," Trump tweeted last week. "Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke."

Sinclair is currently awaiting approval from the Trump administration on a $3.9 billion deal to acquire 42 more stations from Tribune Media, expanding its reach to 72 percent of American viewers.