Latest news with #LesterHolt
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NBC's Lester Holt Replacement Loses First Ratings Battle
NBC's Nightly News lost viewers in anchor Tom Llamas' first month as he took the reins from Lester Holt, while his ex-ABC colleague David Muir saw his ratings at ABC's World News Tonight increase. Llamas, 46, started his run on June 2. The show's June ratings averaged around 5.674 million viewers, down from the 66-year-old Holt's final average at 5.708 million viewers. It also saw a slight drop in viewers in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic, dropping from 828,000 viewers to 823,000 as Holt left the program on May 30. Muir led World News Tonight to increase its lead over Nightly News between May and June, growing from 7.24 million to 7.308 million in total viewers. World News Tonight remained the top-rated evening news program in June, though its averages this June were drawn from shortened weeks as the NBA Finals on ABC preempted the show. World News Tonight aired 17 times in June, while Nightly News aired 23 times. Muir also carried World News Tonight to its largest lead in more than 30 years over NBC Nightly News through the year's second quarter, though Holt hosted the show through most of that tenure. Llamas' slight dip, which is similar to last year's widened gap, indicates the headwinds Llamas faces in growing an audience and beating his former ABC colleague Muir in a time where viewers are pivoting away from linear television, particularly when a sizable gap between World News Tonight and Nightly News has existed for a decade. Llamas, who left ABC for NBC in 2021 and had long been considered the frontrunner to replace Holt, told The Washington Post in June that he does 'want to be number one.' He conceded, however, that his goal was 'not going to happen in a month.' 'I don't know when it's going to happen,' he said. 'But I believe it will happen.' Llamas has seen some encouraging signs. Nightly News marked three consecutive weeks of total viewer growth toward the end of June, and its 25-54 demo gap narrowed to its closest gap in five years, indicating NBC's promotional blitz of putting Llamas nearly everywhere may have had some effect. (Muir countered the move with a sit-down with People in late May, days before Llamas' start date.) Its 823,000 demo average last month was also up from June 2024, which saw 774,000 viewers tune in throughout a turbulent, pre-election news cycle—though Llamas lost 10,000 viewers compared to last year. NBC News had no comment, though it has touted Llamas' growth in its public releases and has demonstrated its confidence in him by flying him to Texas on Sunday to anchor coverage of the deadly flash floods that have so far taken the lives of more than 100 people. Llamas also anchors his daily show, Top Story, on NBC News Now, the network's streaming service. NBC has managed to avoid the precipitous drop that followed CBS News' efforts to revamp CBS Evening News once anchor Norah O'Donnell left the program earlier this year, indicating Llamas has room to expand his share of the market. The first three weeks of its new lineup of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois saw the show lose hundreds of thousands of viewers, and its June 2025 average of 3.943 million total viewers was down from its June 2024 average of 4.380 million. In the 25-54 demo, its June average was 524,000 viewers, down from its June 2024 total of 606,000.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
ABC News bosses 'anxious' as top star David Muir faces competition
ABC News is unsettled by the impact of NBC Nightly News's Tom Llamas during his first month as host, an industry source has claimed. The concerns stem from Llamas, 46 — a former weekend anchor of World News Tonight — gaining ground on ABC's golden boy David Muir, 51, among younger audiences, the insider said. Llamas stepped in for longtime anchor Lester Holt early last month and has quickly closed the gap in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic, as well as among A18-49 viewers — reportedly reaching its closest point in five years. Three straight weeks of total viewer growth under Llamas have also caught the attention of ABC bosses, the source alleged. 'There is a growing concern that Muir's once-apparent successor is already showing promising signs — and it's starting to reflect in the ratings,' the insider said. Muir, who is famously private, gave a rare interview to People in late May — just days before Llamas began — a move the source also flagged. 'Between this, the disastrous Terry Moran exit, and GMA3 being completely reworked, anxiety is high at ABC,' they added. Moran was fired from the network in June after 27 years for an X post branding Donald Trump and aide Stephen Miller 'world class haters.' GMA3 — the third hour of Good Morning America — is now reportedly on the chopping block after struggling to retain viewers. Still, it's not all bad news for ABC. Despite Llamas's promising start, Muir remains the most-watched newscaster in America, with World News Tonight pulling in a far bigger overall audience and retaining dominance among younger viewers. In fact, Muir's lead over Nightly News grew between May and June — from 7.24 million to 7.308 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. NBC, by comparison, averaged 5.751 million viewers — an improvement on both the prior week and year. World News Tonight's 1.58 million-viewer lead marks its largest second-quarter advantage over NBC in 30 years. In the key 25-54 demo, Nightly News drew 840,000 viewers to Muir's 1.01 million. Nightly's five-week high in that demo suggests any battle by Llamas to overtake Muir will be an uphill one. A high-level industry insider also pushed back on suggestions that Llamas is rattling ABC News. 'The reality is World News Tonight is beating Nightly News by nearly 2 million viewers on many nights and just had the biggest June win over Nightly News in 30 years,' the source told Daily Mail. 'While NBC remains focused on their transition from Lester Holt, ABC remains focused on the news.' Still, there are signs NBC's transition is going smoothly. Llamas has avoided a drastic ratings drop since taking over from Holt, a respected veteran known for his evenhanded style. Third-place CBS, meanwhile, has suffered ratings slumps since Norah O'Donnell stepped down in January. Despite Muir's commanding lead, Llamas's show was the only evening newscast to post year-over-year and week-over-week growth in both total and demo viewers. Muir, a fixture in primetime since 2014, took over from Diane Sawyer when ABC trailed NBC — but quickly erased the gap. He's held the primetime crown for nine years, and at 51, is seen as having a long career still ahead. But Llamas, who told The Washington Post in June that he wants 'to be number one,' may be poised to shake things up. 'It's not going to happen in a month,' he admitted. ABC News declined to comment.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
ABC News bosses 'anxious' as top star faces competition from handsome younger rival
ABC News is unsettled by the impact of NBC Nightly News's Tom Llamas during his first month as host, an industry source has claimed. The fears stem from the former World News Tonight weekend anchor gaining ground on ABC News golden boy David Muir, 51, among younger audiences, the insider said. Llamas, 46, stepped in for longtime host Lester Holt early last month. He has made progress in closing a gap in viewers within the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic to its closest in five years, along with the A18-49 group as well. Three straight weeks of growth under Llamas in terms of total viewers have also caught the attention of ABC News bosses, the source alleged. 'There is a growing concern that Muir's once-apparent predecessor is already showing promising signs - and it's starting to reflect in the ratings,' the source said. Muir, meanwhile, is notoriously private. He offered a rare sit-down with People in late May days before Llamas' start, the insider pointed out. 'Between this, the disastrous Terry Moran exit and GMA3 being completely reworked, anxiety is high at ABC,' the insider said. Moran was fired from ABC after 27 years in June for an X post branding Donald Trump and his aide Stephen Miller 'world class haters.' GMA3 - the third hour of ABC's Good Morning America - is now set for the ax after struggling to retain viewers. But it's not all bad news for ABC. Despite a promising start, Llamas still has a long way to go before he catches up with Muir, who is the United States' most popular newscaster. Muir's World News Tonight commands a far bigger overall audience and remains considerably more popular among younger viewers. His lead over Nightly News grew again from May and June, the new Nielsen numbers showed - from 7.24 million to 7.308 million in total viewers. NBC, meanwhile secured 5.751 million total viewers, up from last week and this time last year. World News Tonight's 1.58 million-viewer lead over NBC is its largest in a second quarter in 30 years. In the all-important 25-54 demo, Nightly News pulled in 840,000 viewers to Muir's 1.01 million. In another encouraging sign, Nightly delivered a five-week high in the A25-54 demo, suggesting any battle by Llamas to beat Muir will be an uphill one. A high-level industry insider trashed claims that Llamas is unnerving ABC bosses: 'The reality is "World News Tonight" is beating Nightly News by nearly 2 million viewers on many nights and just had the biggest June win over Nightly News in 30 years,' the source told Daily Mail. 'While NBC News remains focused on their transition from Lester Holt, ABC News remains focused on the news,' the source added. But there are signs that transition from Holt to Llamas is going well. Llamas has managed to avoid a drastic ratings drop since taking over from his predecessor, a well-liked industry veteran known for his straight-down-the-middle reporting. Third place rival CBS News has seen embarrassing slumps since its former star anchor Norah O'Donnell quit her seat in January. Despite Muir's sizable lead on both fronts, Llamas's was the only evening newscast to see grow in both total and demo viewers year-over-year and week-over-week. Muir, meanwhile, has been a primetime mainstay for 11 years. He succeeded Diane Sawyer in 2014 when World News Tonight still trailed NBC in primetime. Muir has held the primetime crown for the past three years running, after erasing that gap in a matter of years. The life-long newsman is only 51 and is seen as having a lengthy career at the top ahead of him. Llamas, however, could repeat history with another swing as he looks looks poised to expand his share of the evening news market. He told The Washington Post in June that he 'want[s] to be number one' in primetime. He conceded, however, that his goal was a lofty one. 'It's not easy,' Lamas said. 'But it's something I think we can do.' He admitted, 'It's not going to happen in a month.'
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
New ‘NBC Nightly News' anchor Tom Llamas brings national broadcast to Chicago
When former Chicago anchor Lester Holt ended his run as anchor of 'NBC Nightly News' on May 30 after 10 years in that role, he left some pretty big shoes to fill. His successor, Tom Llamas, who last month became just the fourth anchor of the network's signature weeknight newscast in 40 years, has hit the ground running. In addition to the nightly 30-minute TV broadcast, Llamas is also doing double duty as host of a one-hour primetime newscast on the NBC News Now streaming network. The shows, which run back-to-back, bridge the gap between traditional broadcast and streaming TV, and firmly establish Llamas as the new face of NBC News. 'My life has definitely changed,' Llamas, 46, told the Tribune. 'It's a great responsibility, but it's one I have been dreaming about and thinking about for a very long time.' Born and raised in Miami to Cuban parents, Llamas is headed to Chicago this week to participate in the annual National Association of Hispanic Journalists conference, which is taking place Wednesday through Saturday at the Hilton Chicago on South Michigan Avenue. While in town, Llamas is planning to anchor Thursday's 5:30 p.m. national newscast live from outside NBC Tower at Cityfront Plaza in the Streeterville neighborhood. The scheduled remote will mark the second time in his nascent role as the top NBC anchor that Llamas has taken the New York-based newscast on the road, after hosting earlier this week from the flood zone in Texas. Llamas, who reported from Rome following the April death of Pope Francis, is hoping the Chicago newscast will include a segment on his papal successor, Pope Leo XIV, who grew up in south suburban Dolton as Robert Francis Prevost. 'I was there in the Vatican, and then Pope Leo emerges, the first American pope, and it's incredible,' Llamas said. 'It's a huge story. So I think we're going to be covering that as well.' Since Llamas took the helm June 2, 'NBC Nightly News' has gained traction in the ratings, averaging more than 5.6 million total viewers last month, besting the 'CBS Evening News,' which averaged 3.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen data supplied by NBC. 'ABC World News Tonight' remained the top-rated evening newscast in June with nearly 7.2 million viewers, but NBC was the only network to gain ground in the key 25- to 54-year-old demo, closing the gap with ABC, according to Nielsen. In Chicago, 'NBC Nightly News' was up 29% year-over-year in June among adults 25-to-54, according to Nielsen data supplied by NBC 5 Chicago. Llamas has been in broadcast journalism for 25 years, starting as an NBC News overnight production assistant. A former anchor at WNBC-TV in New York, he joined ABC News as a correspondent in 2014, and became weekend anchor for 'World News Tonight' the following year. In 2021, he rejoined NBC as senior national correspondent and anchor of 'Top Story' on NBC News Now. In March, NBC named Llamas to replace Holt, who previously announced he would step down after 10 years as the network's top anchor. Llamas credits Holt and other mentors, as well as fortuitous timing, for his elevation to anchor and managing editor of 'NBC Nightly News.' Unlike his predecessor, whose broadcast résumé included a 14-year run in Chicago as a local TV news anchor, Llamas has spent most of his career in New York, where he lives in the suburbs with his wife and three kids. But Llamas professes an 'obsession' with Chicago cuisine, which he plans to tie into his visit — whether on the air or behind the scenes. 'I don't know if we'll be doing a story, but I know I'm going to be eating,' Llamas said. 'So I'm going to be grabbing some beef sandwiches and some deep dish.'
Axios
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Best Day Ever: NBC's Tom Llamas shares his top Miami spots
Tom Llamas may be the new face of NBC Nightly News, but he's a proud 305 native. The son of Cuban immigrants, the Belen Jesuit Prep graduate and former Telemundo reporter took over for Lester Holt as the show's anchor earlier this month. (He's also the anchor of Top Story with Tom Llamas on NBC News NOW.) Given his Miami roots — and his frequent visits back home — we wanted to know what his perfect day in Miami would look like. ☀️ Morning activity: At my parents' house, it's drinking Cuban coffee and hanging out with my dad, reading the newspapers outside and enjoying the weather. If we're at the beach, taking a walk with my wife early in the morning. ☕ Best place for breakfast: CasaCuba. I normally have a cafe con leche, croquetas, pan Cubano and scrambled eggs. 🎣 Favorite afternoon activity: Going to the beach or going out to fish. 🍗 Favorite place for lunch: El Mago De Las Fritas or The Sports Grill, which I think has the best wings in Miami.
