NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� NBC 撸奶社区 appointed Tom Llamas on Wednesday to replace Lester Holt as anchor of 鈥淣ightly 撸奶社区鈥� 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 ABC to NBC in 2021. He's also essentially the lead anchor for the NBC 撸奶社区 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 撸奶社区鈥� after a decade. He plans to stay at the network to work at 鈥淒ateline NBC.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 NBC `Nightly 撸奶社区,' said Janelle Rodriguez, NBC 撸奶社区' executive vice president of programming.
That leaves ABC's David Muir as the longest-serving evening news anchor at 鈥淲orld 撸奶社区 Tonight,鈥� as well as the ratings leader. CBS 撸奶社区 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 ABC, CBS and NBC 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 撸奶社区鈥� ends.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at and
David Bauder, The Associated Press
