TV Talk: Katherine Amenta out at WPXI-TV

After anchoring this morning’s newscasts, Katherine Amenta is no longer with WPXI-TV.

Her contract is up in July and was not renewed, possibly due to budget cuts.

Amenta could not be reached for comment; WPXI news director Scott Trabandt did not respond to queries but confirmed her departure in an email memo to the newsroom.

Amenta joined Channel 11 as morning anchor in July 2013, paired with Joe Arena. Most recently she’s anchored alongside Gordon Loesch with Jennifer Tomazic as “breaking news anchor.”

The timing of Amenta’s dismissal comes just before the start of the May sweeps period on April 25. It’s unclear who will take Amenta’s place but sliding Tomazic over to the anchor desk seems like the easiest, least costly morning team revamp.

Prior to Amenta, Jennifer Abney sat in the chair for five years. And before that, Newlin Archinal was shown the door after a nine-year run in 2008.

Amenta joined WPXI after working at News Channel 8 in Washington, D.C.

During the February sweeps period, Channel 11’s morning newscasts ranked third at 5 a.m. and second at 6 a.m. in the key demo of adults 25-54; in household ratings Channel 11 placed third in the mornings, 5-7 a.m.

Kept/canceled

CBS uncanceled “S.W.A.T.” and renewed the show for the 2024-25 TV season.

Apple TV+ renewed “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” for a second season and announced it plans to make additional unspecified Monsterverse spin-offs.

AMC’s “The Night Manager,” which had been a limited series in 2016, will return for two more seasons on Amazon’s Prime Video with Tom Hiddleston returning as the show’s lead actor.

Channel surfing

Third iterations of “Heroes” and “Melrose Place” are in development. … The CW will broadcast the final eight races of the “2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series” with coverage beginning Sept. 20 and continuing through Nov. 9. NBC Sports will produce the coverage with Rick Allen serving as lead announcer with analysts Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte.