Todd Mokhtari has been named president and general manager of NBCUniversal’s local television stations in Los Angeles, Telemundo 52 (KVEA) and KNBC.
In a press release, NBCU said Mokhtari will “usher in a new era for KVEA and KNBC by bringing together two powerhouse stations to better serve Southern California’s diverse audiences.”
He replaces Steve Carlston at KNBC and Celia Chavez at KVEA. Together, they recently announced their departures from the NBC owned stations.
“Todd is an exceptional General Manager for our San Diego NBC & Telemundo stations. He understands both the English and Spanish language television markets and has long been one of our most innovative managers,” said chairman of NBCUniversal Local, Valari Staab. “Todd is from LA and once led our KNBC newsroom. He understands the power of bringing KVEA and KNBC together to serve the entire Los Angeles area with its large Latino population and ever increasing diversity, in a way no other television operation can.”
This is a return to KNBC for Mokhtari, who was the vp of news for the station before being promoted gm of KNSD in San Diego. He’s spent fifteen years working with Telemundo and NBC stations in California including KNTV, where he was Assistant News Director and helped to create a more diverse newsroom and oversaw the launch of new digital channels.
“With the demographic makeup of our country rapidly changing, the general market as we once knew it no longer exists,” said said Manuel Martinez, President, Telemundo Station Group. “Todd knows how powerful our Telemundo station is in Los Angeles and the value our newscasts provide to our communities. I cannot wait to see what Todd and our KVEA and KNBC teams will do to strengthen both stations.”
In addition to working for NBCUniversal’s California TV stations, Mokhtari has worked as news director for KIRO and KCPQ in Seattle. He launched his career in local broadcasting as an intern at KCRA in Sacramento and held various roles with increasing responsibility, including newscast producer.