Linda Sullivan's eclectic journey through the local-broadcast industry has been ideal training for her current challenge: building NBC's new San Francisco station, KNTV. From an account executive at WJAR Providence, R.I., to station chief at WRC Washingtion during the life-altering 9/11 crisis, Sullivan has mastered the art of station operations. Still, she accepted the KNTV post with some trepidation. NBC acquired KNTV in spring 2002 for $230 million and has been building the station, a former independent serving Monterey-Salinas, into its Bay Area outlet. The purchase was sparked by a showdown with KRON owner Young Broadcasting, which had recently acquired the station. KRON had been an NBC affiliate for more than four decades, but Young bristled at demands to pay $10 million a year to carry its programming. Young even tried to sell KRON to NBC. Instead, on Jan. 1, 2002, the network switched the affiliation to Granite Broadcasting's KNTV, which offered $30 million a year in reverse compensation. Shortly after that, NBC bought the station and recruited Sullivan to run its brand-new O&O in the sixth-largest TV market.
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