Pittsburgh Pop: Talia Kirkland hired at WPXI; details on ACC Network coming to Comcast this month

In this week’s episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including WPXI-TV hiring a new reporter. Originally from Penn Hills, Talia Kirkland is a Duquesne University grad (an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master’s in media technology and arts) who will arrive in January at WPXI from the CBS affiliate in Harrisburg. She previously worked in Philadelphia as a multimedia reporter for Fox News Channel and got her professional start at WDTV-TV in Clarksburg, W.Va.

Last week Comcast announced plans to finally add ACC Network, a great relief to Benz, who heard about its absence on Comcast with some frequency from Pitt fans.

After taping the podcast, Comcast revealed where and when ACCN will be found: The sports channel, which carries Pitt athletics, will debut on Comcast Xfinity systems in the greater Pittsburgh region by Dec. 22 on expanded basic, sports + news and Latino starter levels of service as Channel 1325 in HD. The easiest way to access the channel is by speaking the channel name into the X1 voice remote. ACCN will be available in standard definition on Channel 263 in Pittsburgh and many suburbs, 268 in Greensburg/McKeesport/Weirton, 281 in Blairsville/Indiana, 263 or 268 in Steubenville and 420 in Clarion.

The pair also discuss Owen’s Top 10 best series picks for 2021, the winning new ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary” debuting Dec. 7 and what to do if a TV show filming on your street is disruptive.

Benz praises Julianna Margulies as a good addition to “The Morning Show.”

Listen to Pittsburgh Pop at the TRIBLive Podcast Network and on iTunes here.