BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

Word of Comcast's decision to move MSNBC from standard cable to Channel 183 on a digital tier has not escaped the notice of Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." But even he acknowledged the channel was not moved out of an anti-liberal bias on the part of Comcast.

"Having gone to my bosses and said, 'What the heck?' and as much as it would be great to say, 'This is where they're trying to silence him,' no, no, it's money," Olbermann said Monday at NBC's star party during the Television Critics Association summer press tour. "Either we didn't pay them enough, they found some way to make more money off of us, I don't know. But my understanding is it's a money thing."

Olbermann wasn't optimistic that Comcast will reverse its decision.

"I think they really have the right to do this," he said. "There's very little that can be done. Villagers and flaming torches might do the job on Comcast, but I can't think of anything more direct than that."

MSNBC president Phil Griffin said he's "reaching out to Comcast" to protest the change, but he does not believe Comcast has a political agenda either.

"It's a business decision, but I think it's the wrong time as we go into this election," Griffin said.

If you have questions about new channel lineups, don't call me, call Comcast at 1-800-COMCAST.

Storm front

Everyone wants to know why KDKA fired Valerie Abati, but even if she or the station offered up reasons, odds are those accounts would be at odds with one another. And no one's talking. So here's a best guess and one that applies in just about all situations like this: It wasn't any one thing.

I suspect research on her might have been negative for reasons I've heard/read in phone calls, e-mails and on chat boards. Some people didn't like her voice. Some people didn't like the way she came off.

And while I don't think you can pin the morning news ratings on one person, putting that person alongside the existing team did have a negative impact. KDKA's morning ratings regularly put the station in third place in the mornings, but before Abati's arrival, KDKA's morning newscasts had seen some ratings growth. You can argue whether or not it was too soon to cut Abati loose -- and odds are there were things happening behind the scenes that we're not privy to that contributed to the decision -- but we can say KDKA's 6 a.m. share of the audience was flat from November 2006 to November 2007, down a share point February-to-February and down three share points May-to-May. So ratings probably were a contributing factor along with whatever else was happening at the station that gave management cause to make a change less than a year into her tenure.

'Lights' on

Low-rated but much-loved "Friday Night Lights" got renewed for a third season of 13 episodes that will air on NBC in February 2009. But DirecTV customers will get to see it in October when the show's new episodes air on DirecTV's Channel 101.

That was the only way to save the show, by creating two windows, a first-run on DirecTV and a second run on NBC.

Two series regulars have been downgraded to recurring: Smash (Carnegie Mellon University grad Gaius Charles) and Jason Street (Scott Porter) will each appear in four episodes. "FNL" had its second season cut short, and season three begins with the start of a new school year. Smash is headed to college and Jason may be leaving Dillon.

"Basically that was a decision that came out of the fact that they've both graduated this school, and we felt like the show has always been true-to-life and as authentic as possible," said executive producer Jason Katims. "As much as we love Scott and Gaius, we had to be true to what was happening to these characters."

In addition to a new season, a weekly talk show called "Friday Night Lights Live" will allow fans to call in and talk about the series with two or three actors each week.

Rhimes responds to Heigl

ABC put on a panel with executive producers from their hit series at press tour last week, and there were some uncomfortable questions to "Grey's Anatomy" executive producer Shonda Rhimes about Katherine Heigl's perceived diss of the show's writers. (Heigl said she didn't submit herself for an Emmy nomination because she "did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination.")

When Rhimes was asked about "the situation," "Lost" executive producer Damon Lindelof joked, "I didn't see that one coming." (The "Lost" producers didn't let loose any details about their show's next season.)

ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson said Heigl will get a large storyline this season, which the tabloids are saying will be for her Izzie to develop a brain tumor. Rhimes wouldn't say what the plot will be, but "Ugly Betty" executive producer Silvio Horta had his own suggestion: "I would put her in a coma."

When pressed later, Rhimes said she has a "really wonderful working relationship with Katherine, and I love and respect her as an actress, and Izzie is one of my favorite characters."

She acknowledged that Heigl is famously outspoken and noted that the first half of last season Heigl had a more comedic story and that in the second half of the season Heigl asked Rhimes to write her light so she could make a movie, "so I didn't feel insulted."

Rhimes was tight-lipped about most other plots, but she said the potential romance between Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Erica (Brooke Smith) will be explored.

"We sat down with GLAAD [Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation] and talked to them about women who figure out they're lesbians later in life and what that means," Rhimes said.

Channel surfing

Former Pittsburgher James Ruggiero has advanced to the semi-finals on NBC's "American Gladiators" (8 p.m. Monday, WPXI). ... ABC's "High School Musical: Get in the Picture," featuring Isaiah Smith of Point Breeze, debuted to disappointing ratings Sunday night (fewer than 4 million viewers), garnering the summer's second-lowest premiere scores, according to Daily Variety. It dropped another 18 percent Monday, per The Hollywood Reporter. ... CBS has flipped time periods for higher-rated "Flashpoint" and lower-rated "Swingtown." "Flashpoint" aired at 10 p.m. Thursday and "Swingtown" moves to 10 p.m. Friday this week. ... A "Golden Girls" marathon in honor of the late Estelle Getty, who died Tuesday at age 84, airs today, noon-5 p.m., on Lifetime.

TV Q&A

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about "Farmer Wants a Wife," local TV news and -- wait for it, wait for it -- Comcast. Read it online at post-gazette.com/tv in the lower right corner.

Tuned In Podcast

In this week's edition of the Tuned In Podcast, I chat Emmy Awards with nominee Kristin Chenoweth of ABC's "Pushing Daisies." Simon Baker discusses differences between "The Guardian" and his new CBS series, "The Mentalist." Former Pittsburgher Wentworth Miller talks about the new season of Fox's "Prison Break." And "Ugly Betty" star Michael Urie previews the new season of his show. Subscribe or listen at post-gazette.com/podcast.