Rob Owen stories, Page 31
TV Q&A: Why did NFL Network cut to commercial during the Franco Harris tribute?
Question: Why did CBS go to commercial instead of the memorial for Franco Harris during the Dec. 24 Steelers game? Pathetic. — Lynn, via Facebook Rob: Although that game aired locally on KDKA-TV, a CBS affiliate, neither KDKA nor CBS had any control of the telecast. It was an NFL...
TV Talk: What’s new on cable, streaming in 2023
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Although a slowdown in the amount of original content probably will arrive in late 2023 or early 2024, for the foreseeable future viewers can expect a lot of new and returning TV programs across cable...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh noir thriller ‘Pale Blue Eye’ delivers mystery, chills, character-driven drama
Director Scott Cooper’s “The Pale Blue Eye,” filmed last winter in Western Pennsylvania, is a rarity for movies today generally and movies on Netflix specifically. Generally, it’s a movie for adults and without superheroes, which makes it stand out. For Netflix, it’s the rare original movie where mood plays a...
TV Q&A: What happened to Heather Abraham?Video
Q: Why isn’t Heather Abraham anchoring KDKA-TV’s morning newscast anymore? — Donna, Leechburg Rob: We reported in September that after almost 12 years of early mornings, Abraham requested to step way from anchoring the morning newscasts. Lindsay Ward succeeded Abraham as morning co-anchor. “It was not easy to come to...
TV Talk: Mark Cuban returns to Pittsburgh for ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ segment
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was back in his native Pittsburgh on Tuesday to tape a segment for an upcoming profile on “CBS Sunday Morning,” grabbing lunch with four childhood friends at Galley Bakery Square. Todd Reidbord, one of the owners of Bakery Square parent company Walnut Capital who arranged...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Knives Out’ sequel ‘Glass Onion,’ ‘Emancipation,’ Immaculate Reception anniversaryVideo
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 Will Smith’s “Emancipation,” directed by Pittsburgh native Antoine Fuqua, and the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, which will be celebrated during the Christmas...
TV Talk: WPXI reaches new deal to stay on Verizon
The number of ways to access WPXI-TV will not shrink further this week after a threatened retransmission dispute with Verizon reached an amicable conclusion. Last month Channel 11 came off DISH Network because of a carriage dispute, which is currently ongoing. This week, the threat of a retransmission agreement impasse...
TV Talk: Harrison Ford discusses starring in ‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1923’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Of all the Taylor Sheridan-produced shows — “Yellowstone,” “1883,” “Mayor of Kingstown” — his two most recent are the best yet. Last month, it was the premiere of the Sylvester Stallone-starring “Tulsa King,” which added...
TV Talk: WOW wrestling star Rachel Kelvington has roots in Western Pa.Video
On the first-year, nationally-syndicated series “WOW — Women of Wrestling,” wrestler Chantilly Chella is from Indio, Calif. In real life, the woman who plays Chella, Rachel Kelvington, is from Western Pennsylvania. But the rest of Chella’s backstory, as revealed in a November episode (supportive mom, alcoholic dad), syncs up with...
TV Q&A: Who’s the new KDKA-TV anchor?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: I turned KDKA-TV on as a newscast was concluding at 7 p.m. Dec. 2. There was a new female anchor with Kym Gable. Who is...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘White Lotus’ season finale, Steve Byrne, ‘A League of Their Own,’ Beau BermanVideo
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 the status of Pittsburgh-filmed “A League of Their Own.” It’s now been roughly four months since the premieres of filmed-in-Pittsburgh series Amazon Freevee comedy...
TV Talk: Everything you need to know about the state of subscription streaming TV, top streaming services
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for would-be streaming service subscribers. The business of streaming TV, which impacts the offerings subscribers receive in their home, is in a state of confusion. Until earlier this year when Netflix saw a 200,000 decline in subscriptions — it’s first...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native Antoine Fuqua directs Will Smith in ‘Emancipation’ on Apple TV+Video
Pittsburgh native Antoine Fuqua (“The Equalizer,” “Southpaw”) directed Will Smith in Apple TV+’s action-heavy, would-be awards contender “Emancipation” well before Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars earlier this year. “Four hundred years of slavery is bigger than one moment,” Fuqua told Vanity Fair. “My hope is that people will...
TV Q&A: When will KDKA-TV’s Jon Delano escape his attic?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: I’m wondering if you could find out when KDKA-TV will let Jon Delano out of his attic? — Ken, South Park Rob: In fairness, he...
TV Talk: ‘QED Cooks’ returns with first episode since the pandemic, ‘When in Rome’Video
WQED’s Saturday morning cooking franchise series “QED Cooks” returns with its first new episode since the March 2020 onset of the covid-19 pandemic with “When in Rome” (10 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday and airing in the same time slot Dec. 17 and 20). Taped in late October and once again featuring...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking local TV news ratings, ‘Greg Donny,’ Top 10 TV of 2022
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 the return of Yinzer-accented web comedy series “Greg Donny.” Owen and Benz also discuss November sweeps ratings for local TV newscasts, which station came...
TV Talk: Best scripted TV/streaming series of 2022
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. While TV and streaming offer fresh programming year-round, December remains one of the quieter TV months — that makes it a good time to catch up on shows you’ve missed. Below, you’ll find my favorites...
TV Talk: ‘Greg & Donny’ returns; sweeps ratings favor KDKA-TV, WTAE-TVVideo
Yinzerific web comedy series “Greg & Donny” hasn’t produced regular episodes since 2016, save for two pandemic specials in March and April 2020, but the series returns Dec. 6 with the first in a batch of new episodes. Unlike in past seasons where episodes were shot in advance and rolled...
TV Talk: ‘Willow’ returns as Disney+ fantasy seriesVideo
In the ongoing quest to revive and dump everything-and-the-kitchen-sink onto streaming platforms, Disney+ introduces “Willow,” a series follow-up to the 1988 fantasy film about young farmer Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) who is tasked with protecting the baby Elora Danan from evil queen Bavmorda. At the time, “Willow” was a modest...
TV Q&A: How do evening newscast hours differ from one another?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Local news now starts at 4 p.m. weekdays and goes for several hours. At the top of each hour, the anchors sometimes change and they...
TV Talk: Gift ideas for TV fans of Mister Rogers, ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘V’
For the TV fan on your gift-giving list, consider one of these options: “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” — For those who crochet, this Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood crochet set ($25, Thunder Bay Press) includes 12 colors of yarn and step-by-step instructions to crochet Mister Rogers and finger puppet characters from the Neighborhood...
TV Talk: WPXI-TV off DISH Network just in time for Steelers game
It was odd enough that the ESPN “Monday Night Football” game featuring the Steelers is being simulcast locally on WPXI-TV — for years WTAE-TV has carried the local simulcast — but now it’s even stranger because Channel 11 is no longer being carried by DISH Network. Again, a retransmission fee...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Steelers Monday night move from WTAE to WPXI, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ holiday specialVideo
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 why the local simulcast of tonight’s ESPN Steelers game, usually on WTAE-TV, is on WPXI-TV. It seems likely that WTAE parent company Hearst lost...
TV Talk: Local TV stations set holiday programs
This year, broadcast networks have gone all-in on holiday programs, including CBS’s new animated special “Reindeer in Here” (9 p.m. Nov. 29) and three CBS holiday movies (8:30 p.m. Dec. 4 and 18, 9 p.m. Dec. 11), PBS’s 2022 “Call the Midwife” holiday special (9 p.m. Dec. 25, WQED-TV) and...
TV Q&A: Are there sponsored segments on ‘Pittsburgh Today Live’?
Q: How does KDKA-TV’s “Pittsburgh Today Live” decide where they do stories at? They seem to frequent a lot of the same places every few weeks/months, like Nemacolin or Uniontown’s Neubauer’s Market. “PTL’s” Celina Pompeani typically does these stories. Does she get to decide on the location, or are these...
