What is the guy talking about? KNTV has always been licensed by the FCC to San Jose since previous owners/leadership ran KNTV back when Channel 11 was an contract ABC affiliate.
Also KICU aka KTVU+ a Fox Owned station has the city of License to San Jose even though its offices are in Oakland though.
KQEH aka KQED+ a PBS Affiliate has its city of License as San Jose because of FCC license even though its offices are in San Francisco.
Well KABC7 a Disney O&O has a city of License of Los Angeles even though its offices are in Glendale and Disneys CEO and Board office is in Burbank.
KOVR CBS 13 has its city of License in Stockton even though its Offices are in West Sacramento. And so on.
I'm not sure how the media critic in question claimed marketing ploy though for city of License.
The city of license/broadcasting facility/transmitter thing used to confuse me, too. In the 70's, I dated a woman who worked at (then) "KRE, Berkeley" - now KBLX - and it was simple - studios on the Berkeley waterfront, transmitter outside the window. Then I found out that "KFRC, San Francisco" used the same broadcasting tower in the Berkeley bay mud. When KYLD was on 107.7, their city of license was San Mateo, but they broadcast from San Francisco. The KGO, San Francisco transmitter is in the SF Bay mud near Palo Alto. So I get the concept of "city of license" but also understand why it confuses people.
RE: KNTV. What that Chronicle Tv critic was forgetting was that for many years, KNTV was truly a local San Jose station - first as a secondary ABC affiliate in the Bay Area (to KGO-TV), then later as an independent. When KRON 4 sold in 2002 or so, and NBC lost the negotiation for the station (to dumb-ass Young TV), they bought KNTV for the purpose of turning it into a Bay Area station, as it was the only NBC affiliate. In fact, they moved their transmitter to Mt. San Bruno between SF and Daly City, though "San Ho" (as some locals call it) remains the city of license.
"KTVU, Oakland" makes sense because it has always been licensed to Oakland, and also has their broadcast facilities there - on Jack London Square.