Tom Lamas will take over as anchor for NBC's flagship news program, NBC Nightly News, the company said Wednesday.
Lamas, 45, is the anchor for NBC News Now streaming news outlet. He announced plans to continue replacing longtime NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt last month and resign from that role.
The network said Ramas will take over “NBC Nightly News” this summer.
Of course, the Evening Newscast does not have the same agenda setting influence as Brocaux's tenure. However, the newscast still portrays a large audience. Since September, “NBC Nightly News” has attracted 6.3 million viewers per night, delaying ABC's “World News Tonight,” but ahead of “CBS Evening News.”
In a statement, Mr. Lamas (pronounced Yamas) said that taking over the duty of anchor is “a deep honor and a tremendous responsibility.”
During the afternoon editing of Wednesday's Night News, Holt was called out from Amtrak on his way from Washington to New York to offer his congratulations. “It's important to broadcast his broadcast and you can make this transition work over time, so according to staff who heard him say. “But I'm happy, I'm happy to Tom and his family – shatter my friends.”
Mr. Lamas was hired by ABC News in 2021 by NBC, where he was the weekend anchor for “World News Tonight.” Shortly after joining NBC, Ramas became the anchor for the network's nighttime streaming show. Many TV news insiders interpreted him as an indication that he could be the obvious heir to Mr. Holt.
Janelle Rodriguez, executive vice president of programming at NBC News, has grown NBC News into a leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of audiences.
Certainly, in signs of the times, Mr. Lamas hasn't given up on his streaming role either. NBC said Mr. Lamas continues to anchor “top stories” to NBC News every night from 7 to 8pm, effectively keeping him at the anchor desk for 90 minutes each night.
It was a season of television news change and uproar, with budgets and salaries being cut almost entirely. ABC News issued a layoff on Wednesday, closing its data and political voting website FiveThirtyeight. In January, CNN fired about 6% of the workforce, and NBC also layed off that month.
There have also been a series of famous anchor departures over the past few months. Hoda Kotb left the “Today” show this year and Chuck Todd, the former “Meet the Press” anchor who left NBC News in January. Chris Wallace left CNN last year, Neil Kabuto left Fox News in December, and Nora O'Donnell opened the “CBS Evening News” anchor chair in January.
After Holt left “Nightly News” in early summer, he committed to “Dateline” full-time, where he works as an anchor.
