Legendary NYC anchor retiring in December

Longtime New York City anchor Chuck Scarborough will retire from the anchor desk at WNBC Dec. 12, 2024, he announced Nov. 21, 2024.

“I’d like to break some personal news,” he told viewers that evening. “The time has come to pass the torch 50 years, eight months and 17 days after I walked into the door here at the headquarters of the National Broadcasting Company, I will step away from this anchor desk.”

Scarborough, who is 81, has spent more than 50 years with the station.

“Chuck Scarborough is the gold standard in American broadcast journalism,” said Eric Lerner, president and general manager of WNBC, in a statement. “His skills as an anchor, reporter and newsroom leader are unmatched, and he is a pretty special guy off-camera, too.”

He first joined WNBC in 1974 and anchored the station’s 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts for much of that time. In 2016, he scaled back his duties to leave the 11 p.m. but continued as co-anchor of the 6 p.m.

For 32 years, Scarborough was frequently paired with Sue Simmons, another longtime anchor at WNBC, who left the station 2012 after her contract was not renewed in what were widely reported as cost-cutting moves.

The pair, often referred to as “Chuck and Sue” became icons in the New York media market before their 2021 split. 

After Simmons’ departure, Scarborough was kept on and is currently billed as the city’s longest-serving anchor by the station.

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Scarborough has won 36 regional Emmys, a national Emmy and the Edward R. Murrow Award, among numerous other honors. He has traveled the world reporting on various stories and has also played a key role in covering many key moments in NYC history.

WNBC did not announce who would replace Scarborough. 

Scarborough’s departure comes at a time when the broadcast industry is likely to face extensive cost-cutting and potential consolidation as 2025 approaches. With linear viewership continuing to decline, higher costs and an uncertain future, the industry as a whole is expected to see more widespread layoffs and cost cuts, including the possibility of high-profile — and highly-paid — anchors being let go. 

There was no indication that Scarborough’s exit is tied to potential cost-saving efforts at NBC’s owned stations group, however.