TV Q&A: Does WPXI have a new sports 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: Is Shelby Cassesse a new sports anchor at WPXI or is she just filling in until Alby Oxenreiter returns?

— Ryan, via email

Rob: Cassesse continues to work as a freelance, fill-in reporter/anchor in the Channel 11 sports department. She is not a full-time sports anchor or employee of the station.

Q: Any idea why Channel 2 did not show the Pittsburgh New Year’s Eve activities this year on New Year’s Eve as they have in the past?

— Louis, via email

Rob: I asked multiple times before publishing the annual local holiday TV programming story if KDKA would air a “Pittsburgh Today Live”-themed New Year’s Eve special and station representatives never responded, so I thought the telecast had quietly been put to rest. Turns out it was not a financial decision, per KDKA general manager Chris Cotugno.

“Highlighting the events doesn’t bring people downtown the night of — and that’s the goal,” he explained. “It was agreed to utilize ‘PTL’ for the whole week to highlight the activities and invite people down.”

Q: Do you know why Mary Ours is no longer opening “Talk Pittsburgh” with Heather Abraham? Since Mikey Hood is back from having her baby, she’s been there a lot. Was that always the plan and Mary was just filling in? I’m also wondering how the ratings are for “Talk Pittsburgh.”

— Liz, Mt. Lebanon

Rob: I kept getting questions about the rotating roster of hosts at the opening of “Talk Pittsburgh” over the last several months and news director Shawn Hoder first said it was always intended to be Mary Ours on the show with Heather Abraham even though early episodes featured Kristin Emery when the show premiered in March 2023.

Earlier this year, Hoder said the rotation was due to vacations, maternity leave, etc. But clearly the station was experimenting with the mix of hosts and announced last week that the new “Talk Pittsburgh” regulars will be Abraham, Mikey Hood, Kelly Dzanaj and Boaz Frankel. Ours is no longer in the mix.

As for ratings, the most recent ones I reported from November 2023 showed “Talk Pittsburgh” came in a close second in household ratings to “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on Channel 4. In the adults 25-54 key demo, both shows had the exact same rating/share as “NBC News Daily” on Channel 11.

It took some reconfigurations before “Pittsburgh Today Live” became the ratings powerhouse it is today. Changes to “Talk Pittsburgh” are an effort to replicate the “PTL” trajectory.

Q: Has Callum Woodhouse, the actor who portrays Tristan on the PBS “Masterpiece” series “All Creatures Great and Small,” left the show? He was a breath of fresh air and added comedic value to the show. Is he being replaced by the new character, Carmody, in the series?

— Elaine, Mt. Lebanon

Rob: It would seem so. Tristan was last seen leaving Skeldale House after being called up to serve in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in World War II at the end of season three. The actor will not appear in the current season four and appears to have moved on to other acting roles.