Local TV stations may be pulled into whirlwind. (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia)

Big networks jockey for position; Hollywood considers outlets here

DOWNTOWN -- Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s New York-based broadcast division, whose properties include Pittsburgh's oldest television station, CBS affiliate KDKA, may be shifting alliances. The question is, to which network?

Some industry sources say Westinghouse is leaning toward a deal with CBS; others insist NBC is about to take an equity stake in Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. Inc., or Group W, as the division is commonly known.

But that's not the only potential upheaval in the local broadcast sector.

Two major motion picture studios, Paramount and Warner Brothers, are launching networks. Both want to enter the Pittsburgh market, and WPTT, Monroeville-based Channel 22, likely will be involved in that move.

By the time it's all done, local viewers may wear out their remote controls in search of favorite programs. From local media buyers gauging the odds for anxious clients to armchair athletes flipping the dial in search of the National Football League, no one is quite sure what they'll tune into tomorrow.

"For years, it has been very much in vogue to bash network television and broadcast TV in general," observed Michael Walsh, senior vice president and director of operations and finance at Ketchum Advertising/Pittsburgh. "All this activity is forcing people to think about whether the media is passe. There's a sense of vitality and it's …