WAFB is preparing to start its mornings a little earlier. The Baton Rouge CBS-affiliate announced this week that it would soon launch an expanded block of morning news with a 4:30 a.m. start time.

Beginning September 12th, the station will air a half-hour “early edition” newscast, leading into its existing weekday local news programming from 5:00 to 7:00 a.m.

The new newscast will be anchored by Matt Williams and include weather reports from Diane Deaton and traffic from Johnny Ahysen.

“Our viewers have made our morning newscast among the highest rated morning newscasts in the country,” WAFB news director Robb Hays boasted, in announcing the programming change. “As more and more people start their day earlier, we want to continue to be their choice for local interesting and informative morning news.”