ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- KOAT 7 announced Tuesday that on June 2, 2008, Action 7 News will expand to a full hour at 10:00 p.m. on weeknights. Action 7 News will be followed by "ABC News' Nightline" at 11:05 p.m., giving viewers a full 90-minute news block. With this expansion, KOAT 7 will be the first and only television station in New Mexico and one of the first in the Central or Mountain time zones to air an hour of late night news from 10:00 - 11:00 p.m.

"Based on the growth of the expanded Sunday night newscast, we'd like to experiment this summer to see if there is a similar audience interest on weeknights," said Mary Lynn Roper, President and General Manager. "Since launching the Sunday night one-hour newscast on October 28, 2007, we've grown our 10:30 p.m. audience by over twenty percent. The new 10:30 p.m. Sunday night newscast is Number 1 in its timeslot, growing over fifty percent from last May, and is beating both competitors' Sunday 10:00 p.m. newscasts."

"This is another part of our 'Commitment 2008' initiative to provide quality coverage of local, state and national elections," says Sue Stephens, News Director. "The expanded time for news will give us more time to focus on politics, the struggling economy and how New Mexicans are dealing with higher food and gas prices."

"ABC News' Nightline" will move to its new time at 11:05 p.m. "ABC News' Nightline" is television's most esteemed late night news program, providing viewers with in-depth reporting on major stories and breaking news. The full 90 minutes of local and national news will provide New Mexicans in-depth coverage they won't get anywhere else.

KOAT-7 will continue the one-hour 10:00 p.m. expanded newscast through the fall, at which time viewer response will be evaluated.

About Hearst-Argyle Television

Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. owns 26 television stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio stations, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of America's largest television station groups. Hearst-Argyle owns 12 ABC-affiliated stations, and manages an additional ABC station owned by Hearst Corporation, and is the largest ABC affiliate group. The Company also owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner, and owns two CBS affiliates. Hearst-Argyle also is a leader in the convergence of local broadcast television and the Internet through its partnership with Internet Broadcasting, and in the application of digital broadcast spectrum for new local informational services through its Weather Plus partnership with NBC and various NBC affiliate groups. Hearst-Argyle "Series A" common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTV." The Company's Web address is www.hearstargyle.com .