Following reports that Nexstar Broadcasting Group’s WHAG Hagerstown, Md, will lose its NBC affiliation after more than 40 years this summer, the station said it will “significantly expand its highly-viewed locally originated news programming under the Your Local News Leader brand, with the initial launch beginning July 1,”  reports TVNewscheck.

The TVNewscheck report also stated:

“In association with the news expansion, Nexstar said it will be investing approximately $1 million to relocate WHAG’s news bureaus, open additional field offices, add over a dozen news and production personnel, develop new on-air graphics and purchase new equipment, weather technology and traffic systems to complement the additional programming.

“In addition, the station will hire additional marketing and sales personnel to promote WHAG’s suite of multiplatform marketing solutions, including Your4State.com.

“The expansion will deliver more than 20 additional hours of local news to its new weekly broadcast schedule, increasing WHAG’s locally-produced news, lifestyle, sports, weather and community programming to over 50 hours per week.

“In addition to more local programming hours, Nexstar said the expansion will bring WHAG’s local news coverage “to new geographic areas with the addition of original newscasts unique to local viewing communities in Maryland and Northern Virginia as well as West Virginia’s only available state-wide local news. Importantly, WHAG-TV’s local news expansion directly addresses the needs of the local communities outside the Beltway, particularly in Montgomery County, Md., and Northern Virginia by bringing viewers the only full-coverage local television news programming targeted to their local communities.””