In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including last week’s news that AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh may be in peril.
Following that report, Pirates owner Bob Nutting on Saturday said, “We are 100% committed to make sure that every game is available to our fans in a convenient spot where they’re used to looking for it, with the crew they have produce the games. I don’t see any risk for the fans or the broadcast for 2023.”
Owen and Benz address what could happen next and why Owen thinks local TV stations can’t afford rights to the games, at least not at the rate AT&T SportsNet was paying the Pirates.
The pair also discuss the latest on the possibility of Netflix reviving filmed-in Pittsburgh drama “Mindhunter” — it’s not gonna happen — and KDKA-TV unveiling months-long renovations to its newsroom at Gateway Center, which will be highlighted in a special debuting at 8 p.m. Monday on CBS News Pittsburgh and repeating at 2 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
Benz and Owen also talk about Netflix’s “Physical: 100,” which features former WVU baseball player Dustin Nippert, who now lives in Korea, and great questions of our time, like whether actor David Conrad is a native of Swissvale or Edgewood. Conrad’s response to the insistence of some readers that he’s an Edgewood native: “Let the readers complain. I lived on the border. Dual citizenship.”
And Owen reviews the first season of “1923,” which started with promise but ultimately trudged through four episode’s worth of story over eight episodes.
Listen to Pittsburgh Pop on the TRIBLive Podcast Network or on iTunes.
