LIN Media's WISH-TV will be expanding local news starting on Jan. 1, 2015, the same day that it loses its CBS affiliation.
Four hours of news programming will be added each weekday at the start of the new year. The expansion is part of an investment into WISH-TV’s local news programming, they say. But one can speculate that the decision was made to bulk up on some news programming to fill some of the voids left by losing CBS.
“The investments we are making further enhance WISH-TV’s 60-year commitment to localism and local news,” said WISH-TV General Manager Les Vann. “The additional 20 hours of news per week will allow us to deliver more breaking news, investigative journalism, sports and weather coverage, across all screens, and in new time periods for our viewers.”
24-Hour News 8’s Daybreak will expand by two hours, airing from 4:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. 24-Hour News 8 at Noon will expand by 30 minutes to 1 p.m. 24-Hour News 8’s early newscast will expand by 30 minutes to 7 p.m. and WISH-TV’s late newscast will expand one additional hour, from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
The weekday news line-up will be:
24-Hour News 8’s Daybreak 4:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
24-Hour News 8 at Noon 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
24-Hour News 8 at 5PM 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
24-Hour News 8 at 6PM 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
24-Hour News 8 at 10PM 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
24-Hour News 8 at 11PM 11 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
“Today’s announcement and these news expansions mark a new era for WISH-TV and the viewers we serve,” said Vann. “However, this is only the beginning of that era. We’re looking forward to announcing, in the days to come, our new entertainment program line-up that complements these news expansions.”
