WPMT To Expand Evening News Lineup

Starting Aug. 5, Tribune-owned Fox affiliate WPMT Harrisburg, Pa. (DMA 43), will debut Fox43 News at 4:00 and Fox43 News at 5:00.

At 4 p.m., the station said, “there is an unfulfilled need for local news in the early evening. These two hours of local news will provide many residents with their first chance to get caught up after the workday.”

“We have always been laser-focused on providing a reason and a viewer benefit when we schedule our newscasts,” said News Director David Silverstein. “From the launch of Fox43 News at 10:00, we have reached out to meet an audience that wants local news at non-traditional times.”

“We like to give viewers choices,” adds General Manager Bob Furlong. “With Fox43 News at 10:00, Fox43 Morning News from 4 to 9 a.m., and now two new hours at 4 and 5 p.m., we have a legacy commitment to providing all-local news when no other station can deliver it.”

With WPMT’s local news coverage starting at 4 p.m., on Sept. 9, the 6 p.m. hour will become two episodes of Two and a Half Men, followed by a hour of Modern Family at 7 p.m. Also on Sept. 9, Arsenio Hall will debut at 11 p.m., replacing the station’s half hour of late news. Fox43 News at 10:00, the station’s flagship newscast, will be unaffected.