Lester Holt stepping down from NBC Nightly News

[GraphicsMan 119]

So it’s oficial Tom Llamas takes over “Nightly News” as anchor and managing editor, he’ll also continue to do “Top Story” on streaming. So they making him the face of TV and streaming.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/media/tom-llamas-anchor-nbc-nightly-news-rcna194961

1 minute ago, HanSolo said:

I think he’s fine and that’s the thing, a lot of it is subjective. Some folks love to tear down others over some personal hangup. 

Me too I think he’s fine also. He might have to battle with CBS for second place because they are catching up. But he will maintain the status quo.

[MediaZone4K 2203]

Tom is good. He checks off all the boxes: He can do breaking news, he can be out in the field, and he can handle the lighter stuff. As for who his regular fill-in would be, I see Hallie Jackson filling that role. 

[Jase 1059]

Llamas is a safe (predictable) choice much like Melvin was (when he succeeded Kotb). The only surprise is Tom keeping ‘Top Story’ in addition to Nightly. That’s a lot to take on. 
 

 

[MorningNews 1476]

1 hour ago, HanSolo said:

I think he’s fine and that’s the thing, a lot of it is subjective. Some folks love to tear down others over some personal hangup. 

Can’t simply think he’s an underwhelming choice as lead anchor of the network unless it’s a personal hangup? Absolutely no one is writing home about Tom Llamas as an anchor and it’s not personal, it’s simply based on years of watching him at NBC, ABC and now back at NBC.

Edited March 5 by MorningNews

[EVVTV12 142]

1 hour ago, Jase said:

The only surprise is Tom keeping ‘Top Story’ in addition to Nightly. That’s a lot to take on. 

Nightly is the flagship newscast for NBC News overall, where Top Story is the flagship for NBC News Now. More than likely, he will step away from Top Story once they find a replacement for him there. Other wise, nights when they may to redo Nightly live for the Mountain Time Zone, it will be a mess. 

[atlnewsfan03 80]

3 hours ago, GraphicsMan said:

So it’s oficial Tom Llamas takes over “Nightly News” as anchor and managing editor, he’ll also continue to do “Top Story” on streaming. So they making him the face of TV and streaming.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/media/tom-llamas-anchor-nbc-nightly-news-rcna194961

Me too I think he’s fine also. He might have to battle with CBS for second place because they are catching up. But he will maintain the status quo.

We can only hope NBC doesn't mess this one up, and that the selection of Tom Llamas to anchor NBC Nightly News after Lester Holt departs to focus on Dateline NBC isn't a repeat of Jeff Glor's short-lived run on CBS Evening News, or anything like Deborah Norville or Ann Curry's short-lived runs as Today co-hosts, or Christiane Amanpour's short-lived tenure on This Week, or the short-lived pairing of Lisa McRee and Kevin Newman on Good Morning America.

[GraphicsMan 119]

11 minutes ago, atlnewsfan03 said:

We can only hope NBC doesn't mess this one up, and that the selection of Tom Llamas to anchor NBC Nightly News after Lester Holt departs to focus on Dateline NBC isn't a repeat of Jeff Glor's short-lived run on CBS Evening News, or anything like Deborah Norville or Ann Curry's short-lived runs as Today co-hosts, or Christiane Amanpour's short-lived tenure on This Week, or the short-lived pairing of Lisa McRee and Kevin Newman on Good Morning America.

That’s gonna be hard to tell last time he was with NBC he was in the local level his only national exposure is with ABC (7 years) and now this stint here (4 years). That’s 12 years on national news he’s still still relatively new and young.

[atlnewsfan03 80]

2 hours ago, GraphicsMan said:

That’s gonna be hard to tell last time he was with NBC he was in the local level his only national exposure is with ABC (7 years) and now this stint here (4 years). That’s 12 years on national news he’s still still relatively new and young.

My initial thoughts would've been either Savannah Guthrie or Kate Snow being safer bets, as they have the name recognition, and have been around longer than Llamas.  Granted, it'd remain to be seen if Llamas can deliver ratings for NBC's flagship news program after Holt leaves, and if NBC truly has confidence in him.

Plus we no longer see anchors of the flagship network evening news programs sticking around for 20+ years like we used to with Brokaw, Rather, and Jennings back in the old days.

Edited March 6 by atlnewsfan03

[MidwestTV 1234]

I might have personally enjoyed Peter Alexander more as successor, but Tom is fine. I think he's clearly supposed to be NBC's version of David Muir - perennially young-looking handsome man that exudes confidence

[Jase 1059]

1 hour ago, atlnewsfan03 said:

My initial thoughts would've been either Savannah Guthrie or Kate Snow being safer bets, as they have the name recognition, and have been around longer than Llamas.  Granted, it'd remain to be seen if Llamas can deliver ratings for NBC's flagship news program after Holt leaves, and if NBC truly has confidence in him.

Plus we no longer see anchors of the flagship network evening news programs sticking around for 20+ years like we used to with Brokaw, Rather, and Jennings back in the old days.

Snow would have been a solid choice, but it’s clear she wants to spend more time with her family. Guthrie is not at the level of say.. Diane Sawyer. She’s decent on Today, but is no where near good enough to be ‘the face’ of NBC News. And Jackson is too young (40) and when compared to ABC’s Johnson and Davis or CBS’ Duncan, they are all better than her, imo. 

 

1 hour ago, MidwestTV said:

I might have personally enjoyed Peter Alexander more as successor, but Tom is fine. I think he's clearly supposed to be NBC's version of David Muir - perennially young-looking handsome man that exudes confidence

 

I don’t think they wanted to take Alexander away from his current position. That said, it’s possible he gets a bigger role down the line (I.e.. succeeding Diaz-Balart on NN Saturday).

 

The Liamas move buys NBC some time to build their anchor bench. When compared to ABC and CBS, they are pretty weak.

[MediaZone4K 2203]

12 hours ago, Jase said:

Snow would have been a solid choice, but it’s clear she wants to spend more time with her family. Guthrie is not at the level of say.. Diane Sawyer. She’s decent on Today, but is no where near good enough to be ‘the face’ of NBC News. And Jackson is too young (40) and when compared to ABC’s Johnson and Davis or CBS’ Duncan, they are all better than her, imo. 

 

 

I don’t think they wanted to take Alexander away from his current position. That said, it’s possible he gets a bigger role down the line (I.e.. succeeding Diaz-Balart on NN Saturday).

 

The Liamas move buys NBC some time to build their anchor bench. When compared to ABC and CBS, they are pretty weak.

IMO, 40 isn't that young and I don't  think it should be a problem if networks are always seeking younger demos.

 

I disagree with the anchor bench, CBS has the weakest. They haven't really groomed anyone that stands out for larger roles, with Nate Burleson and Gayle King being their most prominent personalities.

 

In comparison, NBC has Guthrie, Jackson, Peter Alexander, Tom Llamas, Kate Snow, Kristin Welker, Jose Diaz-Balart, and Lara Jarett etc...

 

I agree however with the poster who said Savannah lacks that evening news quality.

16 hours ago, GraphicsMan said:

That’s gonna be hard to tell last time he was with NBC he was in the local level his only national exposure is with ABC (7 years) and now this stint here (4 years). That’s 12 years on national news he’s still still relatively new and young.

Is 12 years on the national level that short of a time?  In this day and age, people are advancing much quicker as the industry changes and turnover gets higher (at least at the local level).

Edited March 6 by MediaZone4K

[Action Newsroom 1295]

Lester Holt's final day as anchor is May 30.

Tom Llamas' first day as anchor is June 2.

[MediaZone4K 2203]

A promo has dropped for the transition to Tom

 

 

[GodfreyGR 679]

So... Getting that we will have no major visual changes other than Lester being swapped out for Tom, which makes sense since graphics package is still new enough. Nice touch to add Brian Williams in the mix... NBC has a history of conveniently omitting host tenures of some shows the network sees as a blemish to the franchise...

[Yayan4155 18]

1 hour ago, GodfreyGR said:

So... Getting that we will have no major visual changes other than Lester being swapped out for Tom, which makes sense since graphics package is still new enough. Nice touch to add Brian Williams in the mix... NBC has a history of conveniently omitting host tenures of some shows the network sees as a blemish to the franchise...

The last time Nightly News rebrand is in June 2023, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of NBC television newscast (Remember, they ditched Serif-based font in favor of NBC Tinker one to more aligned with NBC proper branding). The rebrand was happened two years before Tom takes over Lester's role permanently in June 2025. I also think that current graphics package is too futuristic but still relevant for digital audiences, which are most consumed by younger people.

 

When Tom Llamas takes over the role 11 days from now, the current graphics package will be even more relevant, given how much younger Tom currently as a anchor (born in 1979).

[ABC 7 Denver 1726]

36 minutes ago, Yayan4155 said:

The last time Nightly News rebrand is in June 2023, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of NBC television newscast (Remember, they ditched Serif-based font in favor of NBC Tinker one to more aligned with NBC proper branding). The rebrand was happened two years before Tom takes over Lester's role permanently in June 2025. I also think that current graphics package is too futuristic but still relevant for digital audiences, which are most consumed by younger people.

 

When Tom Llamas takes over the role 11 days from now, the current graphics package will be even more relevant, given how much younger Tom currently as a anchor (born in 1979).

 

Are young people even consuming NBC News digitally?

[Drew 149]

Just like when Brian Williams took over from Tom Brokaw, they waited a bit to switch up the graphics to ease in the change for the viewers.  The networks did the same when transitioning from Charles Gibson to Diane Sawyer to David Muir.  Same went for the morning shows Bryant/Katie to Katie/Matt etc. 

[Jase 1059]

1 hour ago, Drew said:

Just like when Brian Williams took over from Tom Brokaw, they waited a bit to switch up the graphics to ease in the change for the viewers.  The networks did the same when transitioning from Charles Gibson to Diane Sawyer to David Muir.  Same went for the morning shows Bryant/Katie to Katie/Matt etc. 

 

And hopefully a new studio is in the cards too. Studio 1A has never felt right for Nightly, imo