ABC Preps Overnight Newscast

Beginning in January, ABC News will launch a new overnight newscast that will air each weekday from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., the network announced Monday.

ABC’s more than 200 affiliates around the country will be permitted to broadcast anywhere between two hours and the full five hours of the program, which will consist of both live and taped segments. Produced out of the network’s Washington, D.C, bureau, the broadcast will be anchored by two ABC correspondents, who have yet to be named.

John Armstrong, currently ABC’s assistant bureau chief in Washington, will be the show’s executive producer.

The new program will compete directly with CNN and CBS’ taped “Nightwatch,” an interview program that airs weekdays from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.

ABC said it developed the new broadcast at the request of affiliates, which now run syndicated shows or movies or go off the air during those wee hours.

NBC also plans to launch a new news service in January. The 24-hour NBC News Channel is designed to provide NBC affiliates with international, national and regional stories for use in their own local newscasts.