[7] Granite also gave leeway to local television station managers, who were allowed to make market-specific programming decisions.
[15][14] After acquiring key stations in Detroit and San Francisco, by 1998 Granite had 10 network affiliates across the United States;[16][17] it was the seventh-largest black-owned business in the U.S., and the largest minority-owned media company in New York.
[16] Under Cornwell's leadership, by the mid-2000s, via acquisitions Granite owned and operated or provided programming, sales, and other services to 23 channels in 11 markets.
[18][19][13] Its channel group included affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, The CW, and MyNetworkTV, and reached approximately 6% of all U.S. television households.
[18][13] It was the largest African American-controlled television broadcast company in the U.S.[1][20] In the 2000s Granite's stock plunged, attributed to three factors: the company's 2000 "reverse compensation" agreement to pay $362 million for an NBC affiliation in San Francisco,[21][22][23][24] an advertising recession,[25][22][26] and the end of federal tax incentives for minority-owned broadcasting stations.
[27] Following the demise of The WB network,[28] Granite Broadcasting filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in December 2006.
[29][30][27] It emerged from restructuring in June 2007 under the majority ownership of private-equity firm Silver Point Capital, previously one of its creditors.