Pittsburgh Cable News Channel

Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC)

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 Broadcasting
Launch date	January 1, 1994
Official website	www.wpxi.com/pcnc

The Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC) is a 24-hour regional cable news television channel serving the Pittsburgh area with re-telecasts of WPXI newscasts. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station is aired on Comcast (as well as the now defunct Adelphia cable TV systems, which were taken over by Comcast) and on Verizon FiOS in Western Pennsylvania.

History

PCNC, on January 1, 1994, signed on as the first and only, 24-hour cable news channel for Pittsburgh. PCNC was created in a partnership between WPXI-TV (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 FOX 53 entered into a newshare agreement, which allows WPXI to produce a 10 PM newscast for WPGH. WPGH 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.

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, but was discontinued in the early part of the 21st Century.

Another original program on PCNC is 'NightTalk', then hosted by John McIntire, which interviews local and national newsmakers and celebrities. The show also had many funny segments. A regular guest to 'NightTalk' was former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht. Currently, 'NightTalk' airs at 8 PM.

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 current program on PCNC is titled the 'Lynn Cullen Show' and is a condensed version of her weekday radio show which airs on WPTT 1360 AM. The show repeats 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 is titled 'Honsberger Live' and it airs at 10 AM. The show repeats at 5 PM and on weekends.

PCNC has also aired other various cooking, health and law related programs throughout the years. Other programs include 'Our Region's Business,' 'Fedko Fone Zone,' among others.

In addition to these programs, PCNC re-airs the latest newscast from WPXI. The channel also replays some WPXI programming, including the annual Celebrate the Season parade, Channel 11 Holiday Sing-Along, 'Talkin' Pittsburgh' and 'Impact' among others. In March 2006, PCNC and Comcast teamed up to replay the Western Pennsylvania high school basketball championships.

Comcast viewers are able to see "It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle," which is actually produced by Comcast's CN8 network, weeknights at 9 PM. PCNC viewers without Comcast see a repeated WPXI newscast at 9 PM

Current programming

• NightTalk
• Honsberger Live
• The Fedko Fone Zone
• Aesthetic Medicine
• Our Region's Business
• Let's Talk Health
• Do It Yourself Pittsburgh

Calling PCNC

During 'Honsberger Live' and the 'Fedko Fone Zone,' viewers are encouraged to call in and be part of the show. The phone number is 412-333-PCNC.

Current on-air staff

See current WPXI-TV on-air staff list.

External links

• Pittsburgh Cable News Channel website
• Cox Television