In an intriguing development, NBC News has officially appointed Tom Llamas to take over as the anchor of “Nightly News” later this summer, succeeding the esteemed Lester Holt. However, Llamas will not be relinquishing his role as the anchor of the streaming newscast. This promotion of Llamas, aged 45, comes as no surprise, given his significant presence as Holt’s primary backup on the nightly news since making the switch from ABC to NBC in 2021. Moreover, he has been prominently featured as the lead anchor for NBC News Now, where he hosts the popular one-hour program “Top Story.”
Holt announced his decision to step down from his role on “Nightly News” last week after serving for a decade, opting instead to continue his tenure at the network with “Dateline NBC.” Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News’ executive vice president of programming, praised Llamas for possessing a winning blend of journalistic excellence, compelling storytelling, and unwavering integrity, qualities that have long defined NBC’s flagship news program.
This transition leaves ABC’s David Muir as the longest-serving anchor of the evening news on “World News Tonight,” a position in which he also leads the ratings. Earlier this year, CBS News made a change by replacing Norah O’Donnell with the duo of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. Despite the evolution of the news landscape from the era of Walter Cronkite delivering news to millions of households during dinner, the collective viewership of the ABC, CBS, and NBC newscasts still exceeds 10 million viewers each night. The anchors of these programs are widely recognized as the faces of their respective news divisions.
An interesting aspect of Llamas’ appointment is that he will be the first anchor to simultaneously hold the role on both traditional broadcast news and a streaming service. Following each nightly broadcast of “Nightly News,” Llamas will seamlessly transition to deliver the latest headlines on his “Top Story” newscast.
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David Bauder covers media-related topics for the AP. For more insights from Bauder, visit his profiles at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
