TV Q&A: What happened to WQED-TV’s signal?

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 Channel 13 having trouble with its signal? I’m 20 miles from Pittsburgh and sometimes I turn on Channel 13 and it’ll say “no picture” and there’s pixelating. Has the station reduced the power of their signal? Or is there a problem? I’ve never had trouble for the last 50 years now.

— Alan, Westmoreland County

Rob: I’ve heard from several viewers in recent weeks about a sudden inability to get the WQED-TV, Channel 13, signal. At first I thought it was latent issues from the repack of a few years ago. But, no, it turns out the station did recently reduce its signal.

“During recent routine maintenance, our new managing director of engineering and technology (Robert Bowe) discovered that WQED-TV was operating outside the parameters of our broadcast license,” said station spokeswoman Jody Doherty. “Unfortunately, after taking required corrective action — which included a power reduction — some viewers’ over-the-air reception has diminished.

“We regret the inconvenience,” she continued. “We often refer viewers to wqed.org/rescan for more details and troubleshooting tips. Fully extended ‘rabbit ear’ antennas at least 36 long are the best way to get our over-the-air signal. In our experience, newer ultra-thin HDTV antennas do not seem to perform as well with low VHF frequencies such as Channel 4,” which is the digital channel WQED actually broadcasts on even though it appears as Channel 13 on viewers’ TVs.

Doherty said the station will explore options for expanding terrestrial broadcast coverage, which could include “use of a distributed transmission system (DTS) or single frequency network (SFN), which employ additional transmission sites, or applying for FCC permission to transmit with increased power. Such improvements would require professional engineering studies (to minimize potential interference) and FCC approval.”

Doherty notes none of these potential options are quick fixes.

An additional way to receive WQED includes free live streams via the internet at wqed.org/livestream, although the station’s primary channel, 13.1, is geo-restricted to IP addresses associated with the Pittsburgh area. Visit wqed.org/where-to-watch for additional details.

Q: I have three over-the-air antennas and have rescanned several times over the last few days and just can’t pick up any of the Channel 19 substations. I’m mostly interested since Movies! network moved to one of them.

— Sandy, Whitehall

Q: Channel 19 went away for me more than a week ago.

— Mark, Monroeville

Rob: WPKD-TV general manager Chris Cotugno says nothing has changed with the Channel 19 signal, which used to come from a tower in Jeanette but in 2009 moved to the same tower as KDKA-TV north of Downtown Pittsburgh.

“My first recommendation is to have viewers rescan their channels as the channel addition last week, Movies!, may have caused issues for some viewers,” Cotugno said. “Also, WPKD comes up to viewers as Channel 19, but that is the virtual channel assignment. We actually broadcast on [digital] Channel 11. Any channel under 13 is considered VHF, with any channel over being UHF. VHF signals are more susceptible to terrestrial and other interference and sometimes even the season changes. The coming and going of leaves on trees can make the signal change. Building permeation can also affect the signal. Adjusting antennas usually remedies the problem.”

Q: It was a shame the WPXI-TV rolled out “Chiller Theater” again and put it on PCNC and streaming but didn’t put it on WPXI-TV so us old-timers who grew up watching it as a rite of passage who don’t stay up until 11:30 p.m. could have recorded it on our DVRs and then watched it fondly at our leisure.

Live streaming isn’t for all of us and I hope they get so much negative feedback about it until they do the right thing.

— John, Pittsburgh

Rob: It’s unclear how much station executives care about the “Chiller Theater” reboot given their non-response to interview requests. The rollout wasn’t flawless either. Channel 11 said the show would air on WPXI Now at 11:30 p.m. but the Sept. 9 episode was instead on the 24/7 News livestream at 11:30 and didn’t start on the WPXI Now livestream until midnight.

Perhaps the station’s contract with NBC precludes WPXI from airing “Chiller Theater” in place of “Saturday Night Live” reruns.

This new take on “Chiller Theater,” at least in that first episode, wasn’t really “Chiller Theater” beyond playing an old movie. Channel 11 meteorologist Scott Harbaugh introduced the show as himself, not as a character and not surrounded by characters as Bill Cardille was back in the day.

Available on demand at WPXI.com, Harbaugh returned a few times during the first “Chiller Theater” movie to share trivia about the film, “The Brain from Planet Arous,” with a creepy character lurking in the background in some segments. Harbaugh, in a regular newscast suit and tie uniform, didn’t interact much with the ghoul (though later a smiling rando Harbaugh nicknames “Terminal Smile” is a nice callback to Terminal Stare from the original “Chiller Theater.”)

Q: I just saw a promo on KDKA that a couple of Penguins preseason games will be on KDKA+. Is this just because the Pirates are on at the same time or is this a sign of more sports coming to the newly independent KDKA+?

— Matt, Cranberry

Rob: WPKD-TV, Channel 19, has steadily added sports content this year – Riverhounds games, high school football, college football – so the station now known as KDKA+ clearly has an interest in adding more sports programming.

The station is airing Penguins pre-games at 1 p.m. Sept. 24 and 7 p.m. Sept. 28 but with Fenway Sports Group’s acquisition of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, I wouldn’t expect too many more Penguins games on KDKA+ unless Fenway allows a simulcast, which seems unlikely.

Then there’s the question of the Pirates. I just don’t see Paramount Global, owner of KDKA and KDKA+, shelling out the money to televise Pirates games — but who knows what could happen.

Q: I’m wondering when the new season of KDKA-TV’s “High Q” will begin airing?

— John, Green Tree

Rob: Production is underway but there’s no firm premiere date, though Oct. 7 is a possibility.

Q: I am happy to see “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” is coming to digital subchannel Charge, Channel 53.3 in Pittsburgh. Its always been one of my favorite shows. Please tell me it’s not replacing “CSI: NY.” “CSI: NY” is a far superior show to “CSI: Miami.” They have six hours of “Miami” on vs. three of “NY.” It took me forever to find “CSI: NY” on TV (I don’t stream) and was happy to find it as it’s my favorite show.

— Amy, Jeannette

Rob: When the Charge fourth quarter weekday schedule kicks in on Oct. 1, “CSI: NY” will air 3-6 p.m., “CSI: Miami” will air 6-9 p.m., “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” will air 9 p.m.-12 a.m. and “CSI: NY” will air again 12-3 a.m.

Courtesy Charge

Charge TV’s fourth quarter programming schedule.