TV Q&A: What happened to QVC and HSN over the air?

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: Why are QVC and HSN no longer on Channel 16.5 and 16.4 over the air? I don’t have cable. Is there somewhere else I can watch those channels?

— Sue, Allegheny Township

Rob: I reported earlier this year that WINP-TV, Channel 16, is under new ownership resulting in changes to the station’s digital subchannel lineup.

Earlier this month WINP replaced QVC and HSN with reruns of unscripted shows on Defy (Channel 16.5), targeting men 25-54 (“Ax Men,” Swamp People”), and TrueReal (Channel 16.6), targeting women 25-54 (“Little Women,” “Hoarders”).

Court TV Mystery is on Channel 16.4 and on Oct. 1 Newsy, a news channel, will launch on Channel 16.7.

Beginning July 15, HSN can be found on WOSC-TV, Channel 61.1, and QVC will be on WBYD-TV, Channel 39.4, with QVC2 on Channel 39.5. These are low-power stations that can be difficult to receive so viewers may have to rescan and experiment with where their antenna is pointed to receive these signals. The WOSC transmitter is in Oakland; the WBYD tower is in Monroeville so point your antenna in the proper direction to improve the odds of getting reception.

Q: With the news that Andrew Stockey is anchoring the 4 p.m. newscast on WTAE-TV, will he still be the station’s sports director, too?

— Roberta via email

Rob: My understanding is Stockey will remain as sports director, too.

Q: I think I can answer my own question but let me ask you: We never see TV news coverage of important state political issues, bills etc. Finding news coverage of state politics is difficult. What’s up with that?

— Kim via email

Rob: While I think “never” is an overstatement, it’s fair to say that generally local TV news in Pittsburgh does not offer a lot of state government coverage, probably because it’s not super-visual. A fire or car accident or severe weather offers strong visuals in stories that are easy to gather. TV is a visual medium. State politics tends to be complex, not very visual and takes a lot more time and resources to cover.

I put Kim’s question to the news directors of KDKA, WPXI and WTAE but only got a response from KDKA’s Kathy Hostetter.

“While we don’t cover every single piece of legislation coming out of Harrisburg, we do cover a fair amount of news out of the statehouse,” she writes. “Our political editor, Jon Delano, has his finger on the pulse of legislation progress, specifically involving issues that resonate here in SWPA. We’ve done extensive reporting on proposed vaccine passports; various gun legislation proposals; minimum wage debates; unemployment benefits; and the much-talked-about Daylight Saving bill. So to say we ‘never’ cover important state political issues is not correct.”

Q: I’m dying to know when PBS’s “Masterpiece” series “Endeavour” will return and how many more seasons there will be. It had long been speculated that it would end after 33 episodes, just like “Inspector Morse” and “Inspector Lewis” before it. Last season left the count at 30 and I haven’t heard any news that this season would be the end. Any details?

— Stephen, Murrysville

Rob: A new, eighth season is currently in production. It hasn’t been announced as the final season but it will be just three episodes, same as season seven. The new season does not have a premiere date.