Nexstar TV stations to begin playing national anthem every day starting Labor Day

The 171 Nexstar television stations across the U.S. plan to start kicking off their daily broadcasts by playing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” according to a Friday announcement. 

Nexstar Media Group will partner with music rights company BMI and Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., for the new daily series, which will begin on Monday, Labor Day. 

{mosads}“Nexstar’s core mission is to provide exceptional service to the local communities where we operate across America through our organization-wide commitment to localism, unbiased local broadcast journalism and telling the local stories that matter to our viewers and their families,” said Tim Busch, president of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc., in a company release. 

“Nexstar’s local teams take great pride in their ability to bring the local communities they serve together and that is why we are excited to partner with BMI and Belmont University to broadcast this new daily series featuring the Star-Spangled Banner that will air 365 days of each year,” Busch continued. “This unique collaboration supports higher education in business for the music and entertainment industry, while providing aspiring professional artists and songwriters a national distribution platform to showcase their respective talents.” 

The first group to perform the national anthem includes 2018 “American Idol” contestant Julia Cole.  

Nexstar owns the second most TV stations across the country, behind only Sinclair Broadcasting.