Pittsburgh Cable News Channel

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Pittsburgh Cable News Channel

Type	cable television network
Country	United States
Availability	Pittsburgh, most of western Pennsylvania, some border communities of northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio
Owner	Cox Media Group
Launch date	January 1, 1994; 28 years ago (January 1, 1994)
Official website	www.wpxi.com/s/pcnc

The Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC) is a 24-hour regional cable news television channel serving the Western Pennsylvania area. Owned by Cox Media Group, the station is aired on Comcast (as well as the now defunct Adelphia cable TV systems, which were taken over by Comcast) channel 35 and on Verizon FiOS channel 9 in Western Pennsylvania.^[1][2]

History[]

PCNC signed on as the first and only 24-hour cable news channel for Pittsburgh on January 1, 1994. PCNC was created in a partnership between WPXI (Channel 11) and the region's largest cable TV company at the time, TCI. Now, that partnership exists between WPXI and Comcast.

PCNC made Pittsburgh history with the first 10 PM newscast, anchored by WPXI's David Johnson. The 10 O'Clock News aired from 1994-January 29, 2006, when WPXI and WPGH-TV "FOX 53" entered into a newshare agreement, which allows WPXI to produce a 10 PM newscast for WPGH-TV. WPGH-TV had aired its own newscast from January 28, 1997 – January 30, 2006. PCNC now airs a 7 PM newscast in place of its 10 PM show.

During its early years, the station also aired a viewer call-in show titled 'TalkBack' which allowed Channel 11 News viewers to call in and talk about the day's news and events. The show was hosted by Johnson.

Another original program on PCNC is 'NightTalk', originally hosted by John McIntire in the late 1990s. Currently, the program features interviews of local and national newsmakers, analysts, commentators, and celebrities with a focus on the latest current events of the day, often with a Pittsburgh or Pennsylvania appeal. The show also occasionally has lighter segments and broadcasts, including programs such as the monthly 'Rush To Judgment' version of the show that features prominent Pittsburgh attorneys.

Currently, 'NightTalk' airs at 8 PM Mondays through Fridays and is hosted by Beaver County, Pennsylvania sports hall-of-fame broadcaster Ellis Cannon. On Friday nights at 8 PM, 'NightTalk: HAPPY HOUR' airs and features NightTalk regulars discussing the week's trending topics in a lighter way.

PCNC also entered the local daytime talk show programming, giving local radio talkshow host Lynn Cullen her own show weekdays at 10 AM. The show was titled 'Cullen on Cable' and it aired in the late 1990s.

Cullen returned to PCNC on August 15, 2005, with a similar but different program. Her most recent program on PCNC was titled the 'Lynn Cullen Show' which was a condensed version of her weekday radio show which aired on WPTT 1360 AM. The show repeated weekdays at 6 PM.

When Cullen left her original show at PCNC, it was replaced by Fred Honsberger, another local radio talk show host. His show was titled 'Honsberger Live' and it aired at 10 AM. The program ended following Honsberger's death in 2009, and was replaced by PITTSBURGH NOW, which is hosted by veteran broadcaster Chris Moore.

From 2014-2016, 'NightTalk' was produced by media personality and political pundit Lenny McAllister. The show aired at 8 PM Mondays through Thursday and remained hosted by Ellis Cannon. On Friday nights at 8 PM, 'NightTalk: Get To The Point' aired with McAllister serving as both host and producer. The Friday show shifted from Cannon's one-on-one interview style and opinion-driven format to a current-affairs roundtable format featuring experts addressing regional, national, and international issues similar to Sunday morning political shows. In 2016, McAllister left PCNC to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Congress in Pittsburgh.

In March 2006, PCNC and Comcast teamed up to replay the Western Pennsylvania high school basketball championships.

PCNC has also aired other various cooking, health and law related programs throughout the years. Other programs have included 'Our Region's Business', 'Fedko Fone Zone', 'Championship Chase', and 'A Day in the Life', among others.

References[]