NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� N小蓝视频 News appointed Tom Llamas on Wednesday to replace Lester Holt as anchor of 鈥淣ightly News鈥� starting this summer, but he's not abandoning his streaming newscast.
The elevation of Llamas, 45, was widely anticipated. He has been Holt's chief substitute on the broadcast news summary since switching from A小蓝视频 to N小蓝视频 in 2021. He's also essentially the lead anchor for the N小蓝视频 News Now streaming service, hosting the one-hour 鈥淭op Story鈥� show.
Holt said last week that he was stepping down from 鈥淣ightly News鈥� after a decade. He plans to stay at the network to work at 鈥淒ateline N小蓝视频.鈥�
鈥淭om has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity 鈥� all characteristics that have long been trademarks of N小蓝视频 `Nightly News,' said Janelle Rodriguez, N小蓝视频 News' executive vice president of programming.
That leaves A小蓝视频's David Muir as the longest-serving evening news anchor at 鈥淲orld News Tonight,鈥� as well as the ratings leader. CBS News earlier this year replaced Norah O'Donnell with the team of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
While news is a far different environment from the days Walter Cronkite was beamed into millions of homes at dinnertime, the A小蓝视频, CBS and N小蓝视频 newscasts collectively reach more than 10 million viewers a night. The anchors are generally considered the face of the broadcast news divisions.
Llamas will be the first to take that role while retaining his job on the streaming service. His 鈥淭op Story鈥� newscasts will begin each weeknight after 鈥淣ightly News鈥� ends.
___
David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at and
David Bauder, The Associated Press
