Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Hulu cancels series that was to film in Pittsburgh; new WTAE reporter; Verizon’s new streaming bundle

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 this weekend’s news that Hulu has dropped Lee Daniels’ Sammy Davis Jr. biographical series that had planned to film in Pittsburgh in 2024. Producers plan to shop it elsewhere but in this current moment of platform cutbacks, that will be an uphill fight to find the limited series a new home.

Benz and Owen also discuss November sweeps ratings, KDKA+’s team for its 8 p.m. newscast and how WTAE-TV’s recent spate of departures (Kasey Reigner, Ashley Zilka) gives way to one new hire at the station. Yazmin Rodriguez joins the station next month from WJAC-TV in Johnstown where she’s a weekday morning anchor. A New Jersey native who previously worked at WOAY-TV in Oak Hill, W.Va., following undergrad education at Monmouth University with a specialty in TV and radio and a master’s in digital production and broadcasting from Sacred Heart University. She’ll be a general assignment reporter on Channel 4, working nightside, 3:30-11:30 p.m., beginning Jan. 2. Rodriguez said she and her fiancée were hoping for a move to Pittsburgh “because we found ourselves going very often and fell in love with the city.”

Owen offers caution about a series Benz was excited to watch, Apple TV+’s “Master of the Air,” after recent book “Pandora’s Box” labeled it a troubled production behind the scenes.

And the pair look at some recent research from Reelgood on streaming that explores which streaming services have increased and decreased the number of movies offered, which services have the least churn and longest subscription duration and which streamers may be considering bundling up. In addition, Verizon mobile just announced a new bundle that includes ad-supported versions of Netflix and Max for $10 per month, a 40% discount on the services if purchased separately. And Verizon FiOS TV is out with a new piece of hardware it’s calling FiOS TV+, a smart phone-sized set-top box replacement that offers live TV, on demand and streaming service (apps available via Google Play) in one device.

And on the sports TV front, Pennsylvania Cable Network will cover the 2023 PIAA Football Championships at 1 p.m. (1A and 4A) Dec. 7, Dec. 8 (2A and 5A) and Dec. 9 (3A and 6A).

Listen to Pittsburgh Pop on the TRIBLive Podcast Network or on iTunes.