TV Q&A: Will KDKA-TV’s ‘Hometown High Q’ return with new episodes this fall?

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: I would like to know if “Hometown High Q” will be returning this fall on KDKA-TV.

-Jean, Oakland

Rob: KDKA is continuing the show, according to KDKA-TV general manager Chris Cotugno. Meteorologist Ray Petelin hosts. The show will be recorded remotely to keep host and contestants safe and the first program of the new season will air at 11 a.m. Sept. 26.

Q: Will the announcers for college and NFL games be at the stadiums or looking at a TV?

-Tom, Mt. Lebanon

Rob: I did not hear back from representatives for all the networks that carry football but NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” crew will be at the stadium.

My understanding is for ESPN/ABC games it will vary somewhat with some announcers at the stadium, some in-studio, some at home, some in a remote control room depending on the game, network and announcers assigned to the specific game.

It appears some sideline reporters will be working from empty stadium seats rather than the sidelines.

Q: Will Comcast be carrying the ACC Sports Network this year? I am an avid Pitt football and basketball fan and feel cheated that Comcast did not carry the network last year.

-Bob via email

Rob: There are still no plans for Comcast to add ACC Network. (ACCN is carried by Verizon’s FiOS TV.)

Consumers can access ACCN via subscription streamers such as Sling, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV.

Q: Do individual TV stations sell the airtime to “The Kelly Clarkson Show”?

-Eric via email

Rob: My understanding is “The Kelly Clarkson Show” has three-and-a-half minutes of national ads sold by the distributor per hour and nine-and-a-half minutes of ads sold by local stations per hour.

Clarkson’s show gets upgraded to 1 p.m. weekdays beginning Sept. 21 on WPXI-TV.

Q: I really enjoyed the latest season of “A.P. Bio” on Peacock. Do you know if it was always planned to be eight episodes or was filming halted as with some other shows? I could have used a few more episodes. Hopefully the Peacock will renew it for another season.

-Patrick via Facebook

Rob: It should have been a 10-episode season but production shuttered due to the pandemic at which point they had completed eight episodes.

Q: Why am I paying for a Verizon cable package when all the programs on the major channels are game and reality? I understand the covid-19 problem, but the same reality show is on five nights a week with repeats on Sunday.

-Wilbur via email

Rob: Sounds like Wilbur is mostly upset with CBS, which is available as a free over-the-air channel, for the many, many episodes of “Big Brother” and “Love Island” currently airing weekly. Even in a normal year, CBS wouldn’t be bringing back most of its original scripted series until the third week of September. This year scripted shows will be delayed further but many are getting up and running and some will be back on TV before the end of 2020.

Q: The final episode of “Longmire” season three aired a few weeks ago on The Outdoor Channel. I foolishly thought it’d just move into season four. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Can you let me know when I can expect “Longmire” season four to begin airing on The Outdoor Channel?

-Donna via email

Rob: “Longmire” originally aired its first three seasons on A&E from 2012 to 2014 and then its fourth through sixth seasons on Netflix.

The Outdoor Channel will begin reruns of season four at 9 p.m. Sept. 21.