CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NewsNation, Nexstar Media Inc.’s (Nasdaq: NXST) wholly-owned cable network reaching 75 million U.S. television households, today announced a major expansion of its programming, adding 26 hours of news, analysis, and talk to the network’s weekly schedule. Beginning September 27, NewsNation’s new programming line-up will include DAN ABRAMS LIVE, airing weeknights from 8 p.m. ET to 9 p.m. ET, produced and hosted by veteran journalist and analyst Dan Abrams, and MORNING IN AMERICA, a live national three-hour weekday morning news show airing from 7 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET, hosted by award-winning former ABC News correspondent and anchor, Adrienne Bankert. Following the expansion, the network’s weekly original programming will increase from 19 hours at its launch in September 2020, to a total of 55 hours of live news, analysis, and talk every week.
“Dan Abrams is the epitome of the pure, common sense approach to journalism envisioned when NewsNation launched last September,” said Mr. Corn. “He brings unparalleled expertise to our primetime line-up and emphasizes our ongoing commitment to help engaged viewers gain a better understanding of the day’s most controversial and complicated news stories. He has a fresh, no-holds barred approach to covering and analyzing the news, and his credibility is unquestioned.”
Mr. Abrams is the CEO and Founder of Abrams Media, Chief Legal Affairs analyst for ABC News, and host of The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets the Law on SiriusXM radio. Abrams Media boasts over 20 million unique visitors per month across its digital properties, including the industry-leading Mediaite.com, covering the intersection of media and politics, LawandCrime.com, and the Law&Crime Network. He joined NBC as legal correspondent in 1997, going on to host MSNBC’s The Abrams Report and the acclaimed Verdict with Dan Abrams. Mr. Abrams left NBC in 2011 to become Chief Legal Analyst at ABC, where he also served as co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline. From 2016 to 2020, he hosted Live PD, often the #1 rated show on cable television.
“Joining NewsNation is a welcome, natural fit for me," said Mr. Abrams, who has been publicly labeled “center-right” by Don Lemon of CNN and “center-left” by Megyn Kelly. "Too much of cable news is polluted by partisanship with shows focused on indoctrinating viewers, unabashedly cheering for one side or another. We are committed to presenting independent-minded analysis and opinion on politics, media, and the most important stories of the day, exposing hypocrisy on all sides so viewers can make up their own minds. Always fact based, sometimes surprising, but never agenda driven—you might call it a cable news show for the rest of us.”
Also launching on September 27 is MORNING IN AMERICA, NewsNation’s live three-hour national morning newscast airing from 7 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET, hosted by Adrienne Bankert. Ms. Bankert, an accomplished, experienced journalist, and a former member of the award-winning Good Morning America weekend anchor team, will break down the big stories of the day, interacting in real-time with viewers in a way no other coast-to-coast network newscast does. The program will be a daily conversation of fresh, relevant information and ideas that harnesses the power of 5,500 local journalists and 110 newsrooms across the country and helps Americans who watch live happier and healthier lives.
“I’m excited to bring a relatability to morning news that connects with the audience like never before,” said Ms. Bankert. “This show will be a conversation, putting stories in context and getting behind the headlines. And we are going to have fun. Even if people wake up on the so-called ‘wrong side of the bed,’ I want them to turn on the TV and be not only more informed, but feel better, even happier watching us. I believe we are called to a higher standard at NewsNation—to offer a variety of viewpoints across America and give dignity to every voice. That’s what you’ll find on MORNING IN AMERICA five days a week.”
Before joining NewsNation in April, Ms. Bankert was a New York-based national correspondent for ABC News. She has covered some of the most significant stories of the last decade, including the 2016 and 2020 Presidential campaigns, the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the rescue of a youth soccer team trapped in a Thailand cave. She has also reported extensively on the entertainment industry, interviewing such giants as Lady Gaga, Dwayne Johnson, Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, Harrison Ford, and Will Smith.
“Adrienne was always a bright light at ABC and GMA Weekend,” said Mr. Corn. “She has the rare combination of journalistic chops and positivity that viewers will find refreshing and a welcome start to the day.”
In addition to her distinguished career in journalism, Ms. Bankert also is the author of "Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness that Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone.”
NewsNation is currently available weeknights from 6 to 11 p.m. ET, with encore presentations until 3 a.m., Monday through Friday. On weekends the network airs original newscasts from 7 to 9 p.m. ET. (see here for where you can watch or stream), followed by encore presentations of BANFIELD. NewsNation is also available 24/7 on the NewsNationNow app and at NewsNationNow.com.
About NewsNation
NewsNation is a national news and entertainment cable network reaching 75 million television households across the United States. Formerly known as WGN America, the network is owned and operated by Nexstar Media Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST). NewsNation is America’s source for unbiased news, where engaged citizens get news that represents the full range of perspectives across the country. The network draws on the local market, regional and national expertise of Nexstar’s 5,500 local journalists in 110 local newsrooms across the country. NewsNation is available across a variety of cable and satellite providers, streaming platforms, online and on the NewsNationNow app.
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) is a leading diversified media company that leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers through its traditional media, digital and mobile media platforms. Its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Nexstar Media Inc., consists of three divisions: Broadcasting, Digital, and Networks. The Broadcasting Division operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 199 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 116 markets or approximately 39% of all U.S. television households (reflecting the FCC’s UHF discount). The division’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. The Digital Division operates 120 local websites and 284 mobile apps offering hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when and how they access content and creating new revenue opportunities for the company. The Networks Division operates NewsNation, formerly WGN America, a national news and entertainment cable network reaching 75 million television homes, multicast network Antenna TV, and WGN Radio in Chicago. Nexstar also owns a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network, a top tier cable asset. For more information, please visit www.nexstar.tv.
