Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of ‘NBC Nightly News’

Lester Holt will continue as the host of Dateline NBC, the network’s prime-time newsmagazine.

“Quite simply, Lester is the beating heart of this news organization,” NBC News executive vice president of programming Janelle Rodriguez wrote in an internal memo on Monday. “He’s earned deep respect and reverence from our newsroom, industry colleagues, and, most importantly, viewers.”

Holt made history in 2015 as the first African American solo anchor of a weekday network nightly newscast. While traditional broadcast TV audiences have declined in recent years, evening newscasts on NBC, ABC, and CBS can still attract a combined 20 million viewers on a strong night.

ABC’s World News Tonight, anchored by David Muir since 2014, averaged 7.6 million viewers in the fourth quarter of last year, while Holt’s Nightly News drew 6.1 million. CBS Evening News, which recently transitioned to co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois after Norah O’Donnell’s departure, averaged 4.5 million viewers.

NBC has not yet named Holt’s successor, but Tom Llamas—who anchors the network’s nightly streaming newscast Top Story and frequently fills in for Holt—is a leading contender for the role.

Monday’s announcement confirmed that Holt has signed a new long-term contract with NBC, shifting his focus to Dateline NBC full-time.

“I’m excited to report I will be continuing as anchor of Dateline NBC,” Holt wrote in a memo to staff. “For the first time in a full-time capacity, I’ll be expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting Dateline hours on subjects I care deeply about.”