Sinclair to launch regional ‘Pittsburgh Sports Tonight’ across three stations

Sinclair will launch “Pittsburgh Sports Tonight,” a live weeknight sports program airing across three of its stations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, beginning Aug. 31.

The 30-minute program will air live from 7 to 7:30 p.m. ET on WPGH Fox 53 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; WJAC NBC in Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and WTOV Fox 9 in Steubenville, Ohio, and Wheeling, West Virginia.

Sinclair said the three stations collectively reach more than 3.5 million viewers.

“Pittsburgh Sports Tonight” will cover professional, college and high school sports across the region, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia University, Robert Morris University and Duquesne University.

The program will include breaking news, live reports, interviews, analysis and feature stories. Jack Hillgrove will serve as host with Destiny Sanchez as co-host. Ashley Wenskoski will serve as sports anchor and reporter, while Darren Zaslau will be executive producer, sports analyst and reporter.

“Sports are woven into the fabric of our communities,” said Tim McCoy, vice president and general manager of WPGH and WTOV in a statement. “’Pittsburgh Sports Tonight’ will celebrate those stories every night while providing viewers with comprehensive regional sports coverage.”

Hillgrove joins the program after five years as a sports anchor and reporter at WTOV, where he covered high school and college athletics along with Pittsburgh’s professional teams. A South Hills native, he graduated from Waynesburg University in 2021. He also works as a part-time talk show host at Pittsburgh sports radio station KDKA-FM 93.7 The Fan.

Sanchez most recently spent two years as a sports anchor and reporter at WFMZ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, covering Philadelphia professional sports and high school athletics. A Penn State graduate, she previously worked with Penn State Athletics and Big Ten StudentU and received the Big Ten Network’s Lisa Byington Award in 2024.

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Wenskoski joins from CNY Central in Syracuse, New York, where she spent three years as a sports anchor, reporter and host. She graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2023 and received a New York State Broadcasters Association award for best sportscast in 2024.

Zaslau has spent five years with WPGH and WPNT 22 The Point as an on-air host, executive producer and digital content coordinator. He has also handled play-by-play duties for “Friday Night Rivals” and high school basketball coverage. His “Steeling the Spotlight” series has received Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters awards in three consecutive years.

Jason Chavis, vice president and general manager of WJAC, said the program would reflect the broader connection between Pittsburgh sports and communities throughout western and central Pennsylvania.

“There is a genuine sense of pride and nostalgia in that relationship,” Chavis saidin. “‘Pittsburgh Sports Tonight’ will honor that connection while also giving the athletes, schools and communities within our own market the regional platform and recognition they deserve.”