TV Talk: WPXI comes off DirecTV; WQED adds ‘Cartoon Academy’

In the latest retransmission battle, WPXI is no longer available to AT&T’s DirecTV and AT&T TV live streaming subscribers.

AT&T and WPXI parent company Cox Media Group, owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, failed to come to terms on a new contract. The old contract expired at 2:59 a.m. Tuesday.

“We’re disappointed Cox Media Group and Wall Street financier Apollo Global Management have intentionally put our customers into the middle of a private business matter,” reads a statement released by AT&T. “We want to get WPXI-NBC back into their local lineups, but Cox and Apollo alone have exclusive control over which homes are allowed to receive WPXI-NBC and any NBC programs in Pittsburgh.”

CMG released a statement blaming AT&T: “Rather than reach a fair and reasonable deal, AT&T/DIRECTV instead has chosen to drop the CMG stations. This comes at a time when viewers, more than ever, need access to the timely and credible information the CMG TV stations work hard to bring to our local communities.”AT&T’s statement suggests negotiations will continue.

CMG’s last big dispute was with DISH Network. WPXI was off DISH from late July to mid-December 2020.

‘Cartoon Academy’ on WQED

Pittsburgh cartoonist Joe Wos, whose “How to Toon” YouTube series became a go-to activity for parents seeking fine motor skills practice for their children while home from school during the pandemic, has joined with WQED Education for a series of online videos and a TV special.

Six new videos featuring Wos’ step-by-step guide for drawing cartoon characters will be released on WQED’s YouTube channel and at WQED.org on Feb. 17, 18, 19, 22, 23 and 24. The videos will be combined into a special that premieres on WQED’s Showcase Channel at 3 p.m. Feb. 25 and will rebroadcast every two weeks in the same time slot. (Showcase Channel is available over the air on Channel 13.4 but has no cable carriage.)

Each six-to-nine minute video features Wos drawing a different animal character, from a kangaroo to a cow to a rooster.

Channel surfing

Country duo Dan + Shay (which includes Dan Smyers of Wexford) will be battle advisers to Blake Shelton’s team on a new season of NBC’s “The Voice,” premiering at 8 p.m. March 1. … NBC’s “New Amsterdam” returns for its third season at 10 p.m. March 2. … A new episode of NBC’s “This is Us” got postponed again this week due to covid production delays; a new episode is now expected to air Feb. 9.