TV Talk: Tori Yorgey on ‘Ellen;’ equipment failure bedevils WQED-TV schedule

Looks like Tori Yorgey’s start date with WTAE-TV, scheduled for Feb. 1, will push back just a few days. She tweeted a photo Monday from the makeup room of daytime chat show “Ellen,” which tapes in Burbank, Calif. Presumably Yorgey is appearing to talk about getting hit by a car on live TV during her last week on the job at her former TV station, WSAZ-TV.

“Still in disbelief this happened,” Yorgey tweeted. “If you want to see me super excited/nervous catch me on @TheEllenShow tomorrow (Feb. 1)! #Blessed.”

“Ellen” airs on Channel 4 at 3 p.m. on weekdays.

WQED-TV equipment fails

An equipment failure at WQED-TV will have some impact on the station’s programming schedule for up to the next month.

Per station spokesman George Hazimanolis, WQED’s central control system, which gives the station the ability to switch on air between PBS and local programming, failed late last week. PBS shows will continue to air as scheduled, but locally-produced programs, including Saturday night staple “Filmmakers Corner,” and underwriting messages will not air.

Additionally, locally-programmed blocks of Black History Month programming scheduled to air some weeknights and Sunday afternoons will not air. A planned pledge period Jan. 29-30 did not air. The next pledge is scheduled for Feb. 26-27 and whether it airs will depend upon how long it takes to get the issue resolved.

In addition to the impacts on Channel 13.1, the outage also impacts the Showcase Channel, 13.4, which will air the PBS national feed for the time being.

WQED-TV was one month away from replacing its 16-year-old master control system when the equipment failed. WQED will attempt to expedite the installation process and plans to update its online listings at WQED.org to reflect changes to programming in the interim.

“We apologize for the inconvenience,” WQED said in a statement, “and will keep updating our viewers through radio and social media channels as progress is made.”

‘Very Local’ finds ‘Adventure’

Last fall, Hearst Television, owner of Pittsburgh’s WTAE-TV, launched the Very Local streaming channel.

At launch, it didn’t have a lot that was, well, very local, but since them, the channel – available online at VeryLocal.com and via Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku devices – has started adding local shows, including “Ed and Day in the Burgh.” It stars comedians/podcasters/craft beer enthusiasts Ed Bailey and Day Bracey as they explore the best places in Pittsburgh to grab a cold brew.

This week, Very Local launches a national show with Pittsburgh-centric episodes. “Finding Adventure,” hosted by Kinga Philipps, launches Tuesday and features the host visiting various cities with Hearst-owned TV stations, to take a local person out of their comfort zones and on an adventure.

In the first Pittsburgh episode, streaming Feb. 8, Philipps takes Camryn Simpson, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Pittsburgh, away from her social media accounts for outdoor adventures with local outfitters Win’s Wild Adventures, Wilderness Voyageurs and Moraine Sailing Club.

A second Pittsburgh-set episode will stream March 29.

Channel surfing

Not only did the filmed-in-Pittsburgh movie “Cha Cha Real Smooth” get picked up for $15 million by Apple to stream in the future on Apple TV+ (no date announced) at the virtual Sundance Film Festival, but the film also received the festival’s Audience Award. … It was quite the week for cancellations at Showtime last week. First, the network killed filmed-in-Western Pennsylvania “American Rust” and then it canceled “Black Monday” and “Work in Progress.” … Beginning Friday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow will take off several weeks from her prime-time program to work on other projects as part of her new deal with NBCUniversal.