Tom Llamas to host ‘NBC Nightly News’ starting this summer
NEW YORK — Tom Llamas, a national NBC correspondent who anchors his own show on the network, is set to also host “NBC Nightly News” after Lester Holt steps down later this year.
Llamas, who currently anchors “Top Story with Tom Llamas,” will host both shows, NBC announced Wednesday. “Top Story” is an evening newscast streaming on NBC News NOW.
“I look forward to working with the world class journalists at ‘Nightly News’ and ‘Top Story’ to bring viewers the most important stories every night,” Llamas said in a statement.
Holt, 65, was the anchor and managing editor of the program for over a decade. He was put on the weekday anchor desk in 2015 after spending eight years as the weekend anchor for “Nightly News.”
According to NBC, Holt will continue to have a full time role as the primary anchor for “Dateline,” which he has also anchored for nearly 15 years.
Llamas’ 25-year long journalism career began at NBC, then he worked at ABC as the chief national affairs correspondent and anchored “World News Tonight” on the weekend, according to NBC.
He returned to NBC four years ago where he filled the position he’s now in and regularly filled in on “NBC Nightly News” and occasionally worked on the “TODAY” show.
NBC says Llamas will fill the role “this summer.”
Holt is the latest high-profile reporter to leave a network anchoring job. Norah O’Donnell recently stepped down as “CBS Evening News” anchor. She is being replaced by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.