TV Q&A: Will DISH Network carry Penguins games this winter?
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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: Will DISH Network carry the Penguins games this winter?
— David, via email
Rob: DISH dropped AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh two years ago with DISH executives saying, “The current RSN model is fundamentally broken,” as they stopped carrying most if not all regional sports networks on the DISH lineup.
The sale of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh to Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group does nothing to alter the fundamentals at play, so it’s unlikely DISH would suddenly reverse course and pick up the channel, soon to be known as SportsNet Pittsburgh.
It’s worth noting that in December 2021, DISH also dropped Fenway’s New England Sports Network (NESN), which will handle daily operations for SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Q: With a possible DISH and DirecTV merger, how will it affect the channel lineup? I ask because I have DISH and DISH doesn’t offer Channel 11 or AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.
— Dave, via email
Rob: Alas, my crystal ball is unreliable.
Supposedly DISH and DirecTV have been talking about a merger but there’s also speculation those talks cooled early this summer.
As to what would happen to the RSNs that DirecTV does carry and DISH does not carry if the companies combine, that would depend on which company’s worldview would prevail in any merger – a merger, that again, has yet to happen.
Q: With NESN (New England Sports Network) purchasing AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, how will Penguins games be broadcast this year?
— Dave, Pittsburgh
Rob: NESN did not purchase AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Penguins and NESN, will buy AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. Penguins games will continue to air on what is currently called AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, though the channel’s name will become SportsNet Pittsburgh on Oct. 2.
The channel will continue to have carriage on cable and satellite systems where AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh is carried now. It’s also possible that Fenway will launch a direct-to-consumer subscription streaming version of the channel as it did for the Red Sox, but a DTC streaming service has not yet been announced.
Before anyone asks what this means for the Pirates on TV, that appears to be more complicated as my colleague Tim Benz reported last week. It’s unclear exactly how the Pirates TV rights will shake out or where their games will be televised in the 2024 MLB season.
Q: Can you please find out if KDKA will still show “The Chosen” when The CW becomes KDKA+? CW runs “The Chosen” every Sunday at 8 p.m.
— Dianna, via email
Rob: I reported last month that The CW would move from WPCW-TV, Channel 19, to WPNT-TV, Channel 22, on Sept. 1. “The Chosen” never aired on KDKA but was part of The CW lineup when it was carried on Channel 19. As part of The CW lineup, “The Chosen” also moved to Channel 22 and will remain in The CW’s Sunday night lineup.
Channel 19, previously WPCW-TV and now WPKD-TV, went fully independent on Sept. 1 and rebranded with the moniker KDKA+.
Q: Why is Tim Benz off of WPXI’s “The Final Word?”
— Jack, via email
Rob: Benz is on staff at Trib Total Media, which has a relatively new news content partnership with WTAE-TV.
Q: What happened to Channels 61.1 and 61.2? Seems like something happened Sept. 1. My remote now skips from 53.3 to 61.3.
— Bev, Sheraden/Crafton Heights
Rob: Looks like there was indeed a change. Per Ron Bruno, who operates low-power Channel 61, Weigel, which owns Catchy (former Channel 61.1) and Movies! (former Channel 61.2), opted to move the channels to KDKA-TV and WPKD-TV. The changes took effect on Sept. 1.
Here’s the current digital subchannel lineup for KDKA, Channel 2:
2.1 KDKA
2.2 Start TV
2.3 DABL
2.4 FAVE
2.5 Catchy
And for WPKD, Channel 19:
19.1 WPKD
19.2 Heroes and Icons
19.3 GRIT
19.4 Movies!
19.5 The Grio
As for Channel 61, Bruno said new networks will be added but the departure of the former channels was unexpected. He hopes to have new networks in place for those channels by Oct. 1.
Q: Is a date set for the 40th anniversary show of “Press Your Luck” that has been advertised on Buzzr?
— Sherry, Murrysville
Rob: Per Buzzr, which airs in Pittsburgh on Channel 61.3 and DISH Network Channel 245, the “Press Your Luck” 40th Anniversary stunt will air 12-10 p.m. Sept. 16 and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 17.