NEW YORK — NBC News has announced that Tom Llamas will take over from Lester Holt as the anchor of “Nightly News” during the summer, though he will maintain his presence on the streaming newscast. His promotion was anticipated by many since he became Holt’s main substitute shortly after joining NBC from ABC in 2021. Apart from his new role, Llamas will continue to be the principal anchor for the NBC News Now streaming service, where he hosts the one-hour show, “Top Story.”
Lester Holt revealed last week his decision to step down from the “Nightly News” anchor chair after serving for ten years. Despite stepping back, Holt will remain with the network, contributing to “Dateline NBC.”
Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News’ executive vice president of programming, praised Llamas, saying, “Tom possesses the perfect blend of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling, and steadfast integrity — all attributes that have long defined NBC ‘Nightly News.’”
Following this change, David Muir of ABC will become the longest-tenured evening news anchor with “World News Tonight,” maintaining its position as the ratings frontrunner. Meanwhile, CBS News had earlier replaced Norah O’Donnell with John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois as their evening news anchors.
Despite the drastically altered landscape from when broadcast news anchors like Walter Cronkite were household fixtures, the nightly newscasts on ABC, CBS, and NBC still collectively attract more than 10 million viewers. The anchors generally symbolize the television news divisions.
Tom Llamas will be the first to handle the dual role of anchoring the evening newscast on terrestrial TV while maintaining his position within the network’s streaming service. His “Top Story” show will air each weeknight after “Nightly News” wraps up.
