NBC names its pick to replace Lester Holt on ‘Nightly News’

By Michael P. Hill • March 5, 2025

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In a move that has been widely anticipated for years, NBC News named Tom Llamas as anchor of “NBC Nightly News” after Lester Holt leaves the broadcast in early summer of 2025.

“Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity — all characteristics that have long been trademarks of ‘NBC Nightly News,’” NBC News executive vice president of programming Janelle Rodriguez said in a statement. “Additionally, he’s been instrumental in growing NBC News Now into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers.”

‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt leaving broadcast

Llamas serves as both a senior national correspondent and anchor of “Top Story” 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.

Once seated at the anchor desk, Llamas will be the first Latino journalist to anchor an English-language evening network newscast in the U.S.

Llamas was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrants who left their home country as political refugees.

He joined NBC News in April 2021. When he was hired earlier that year, the network indicated he would be both a correspondent and anchor a primetime newscast on its news streamer. Since then he has served as a fill-in anchor on NBC newscasts, as well as helping co-anchor NBC News Now coverage of major events.

Llamas got his start in broadcasting at NBC and MSNBC. He also worked at WTVJ, NBC’s owned station in Miami, and WNBC in New York before returning to NBC News. He left for ABC in 2014.

Before his latest stint at NBC, Llamas worked at ABC News from 2014 to to 2021 as a reporter and weekend anchor of “ABC World News Tonight.” When he left ABC, it was widely speculated that NBC was snatching him up to be groomed as an eventual replacement for Holt. Llamas was also reportedly concerned about his opportunities for advancement at ABC since “WNT” anchor David Muir was regularly winning the ratings race and was still fairly young, meaning he would be unlikely to retire soon.