TV Talk: Paramount job cuts impact roles at KDKA-TV, WPKD

With the new ownership of Paramount by Skydance comes another round of job cuts, including a dozen positions cut at Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV and WPKD. Most of the roles eliminated were behind the scenes, but the cuts also claimed the jobs of three members of the on-air talent team, including “Pittsburgh Today Live” reporter Katie O’Malley.

O’Malley posted to Facebook about her job loss, writing in part, “Over the past 2½ years, I had the honor of serving our city as a reporter for @pittsburghtodaylive, showcasing the exciting things happening throughout our city and region and the extraordinary people that make Pittsburgh so special. I truly love being part of Team PTL and I’m beyond grateful of this chapter in my journey.”

Other on-air talent let go were “Talk Pittsburgh” co-host Kelly Dzanaj and director of community impact Lisa Smith, host of KDKA’s “Intersections.”

Dzanaj and Smith had not posted to Facebook about their job losses at the time of this writing.

“Intersections,” a weekly show, will move to a monthly release schedule hosted by members of the KDKA talent roster.

In a memo to staff today obtained by TribLive, Paramount CEO David Ellison wrote, “When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made clear that building a strong, future-focused company would require significant change — including restructuring the organization. As part of that process, we must also reduce the size of our workforce, and we recognize these actions affect our most important asset: our people.”

Ellison continued, “In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth. Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”

Approximately 1,000 jobs are being eliminated companywide this week, with an additional 1,000 jobs slated for cuts in the future. At the national level, cuts at CBS News will result in the cancellation of streaming series “CBS Mornings Plus” and “CBS Evening News Plus,” per Deadline.com, as well as an overhaul of “CBS Saturday Morning.” The network is also closing its bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa. These cuts were in the works before Pittsburgh native Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News this month.

Earlier this week, “CBS Evening News” co-anchor John Dickerson, who also hosted “CBS Evening News Plus,” announced he will leave CBS News at the end of the year.

WQED-TV increases distribution

WQED-TV’s signal is now distributed over-the-air on Channel 13 and low-power Channel 12.

The owner of low-power Channel 12 is permitting WQED to simulcast WQED-TV’s channels on Channel 12, an effort to make WQED available to more viewers, including those who lost access after the channel moved in 2019 to a part of the spectrum that’s harder for some viewers to receive and more prone to interference.

Viewers are encouraged to re-scan, and they might see two sets of Channel 13’s channels. Pick the one that comes in better.

Channels that had been on Channel 12 have relocated to WWAT, low-power Channel 45, including Rev’n (45.1), Action (45.2), Family (45.3), Ace TV (45.4), Right Now (45.5), YTA (45.6), AMG TV (45.7), Fun Roads (45.8) and Weather Nation (45.10).

Kept/canceled/ordered

Hulu renewed “Only Murders in the Building” for a sixth season.

USA Network renewed “The Rainmaker” for a second season to air next year.

Netflix renewed adult animated series “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” for a second season.

Starz canceled “BMF” after four seasons.

Disney+ will end its partnership with the BBC to produce “Doctor Who” after two seasons, but the BBC says the series will continue with a 2026 Christmas special.

Hulu ordered a “Prison Break” reboot series without characters from the original Fox drama.

Channel surfing

The second episode of “It: Welcome to Derry” will debut Friday in celebration of Halloween and will still air in its usual 9 p.m. Sunday time slot on HBO on Nov. 2. … September theatrical release “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” will stream on Peacock Nov. 7. … Mark Harmon will reprise his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on prequel series “NCIS: Origins” (8 p.m. Tuesday) on Nov. 11. … Pittsburgh native Scott Galloway’s “Children in Crisis: The Story of CHIP,” which previously aired locally on the World Channel, will have its broadcast premiere on WQED-TV at 9 p.m. Nov. 3. … To promote the sequel film that’s in theaters Nov. 22, NBC will air the first “Wicked” movie Nov. 19 (8-11:30 p.m.), a few weeks after NBC’s music performance special, “Wicked One Wonderful Night” (8-10 p.m. Nov. 6). … Acorn TV’s Jane Seymour-starring crime drama “Harry Wild” returns for a feature-length special episode that will stream Nov. 24. … ABC’s “Will Trent” and “The Rookie” return Jan. 6 with ABC’s “Scrubs” continuation debuting at 8 p.m. Feb. 25. … “Breaking Bad” co-star Betsy Brandt will join the cast of “Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches” as a series regular in the third season that begins filming this week in Vancouver, Canada.