Nexstar Rebrands WGN America to NewsNation

01.25.2021

Nexstar-owned WGN America is rebranding to NewsNation and expanding its news programming to five hours in primetime on weeknights beginning March 1, Nexstar said Monday.Â

NewsNation will debut two new weeknight shows on March 1: NewsNation Early Edition at 6 p.m. ET, anchored by Nichole Berlie, who moves over from weekend anchor of NewsNation, and The Donlon Report, anchored by Joe Donlon at 7 p.m. ET. Both of those shows will join the recently announced Banfield, starring Ashleigh Banfield, which will also debut March 1 and air weeknights at 10 p.m. ET.Â

The channel's original news program, NewsNation, will be renamed NewsNationPrime on March 1. NewsNationPrime will air from 8 to 10 p.m. ET and continue to be anchored by Marni Hughes and Rob Nelson.

"Rebranding WGN America as NewsNation underscores the network's clearly defined mission of delivering fact-based and unbiased news, while making it easier for viewers to find this new informative source for news," said Sean Compton, president of Nexstar's networks division, in a statement. "At the same time, expanding our news programming to five hours Monday through Friday will extend the network's reach and the depth of its news content across more weeknight time periods, delivering viewers more national news and regional stories from across the U.S., as well as coverage of the day's most important issues."

Donlon also has been on NewsNation since its launch last fall. Prior to joining NewsNation, Donlon was co-anchor of WGN Chicago's 9 p.m. news.

"The Donlon Report will give viewers an in-depth look at the news events of the day with the help of our correspondents across the country and interviews with experts who can add insight and perspective," said Donlon, also in a statement. "We'll dive into the biggest stories in news, sports, entertainment and culture while staying true to NewsNation's mission of delivering objective journalism."

NewsNation also offers an app, NewsNationNow. Its website at NewsNationNow.com provides U.S. and international news around the clock.Â