NBC News has spent the last month in a state of crisis thanks to the scandal surrounding Brian Williams. After the network confirmed that their beloved NBC Nightly News anchor had developed a bit of an embellishment problem they decided to suspend him without pay for six months. Figuring out how to punish Williams might have been the easy task, revamping NBC Nightly News was a whole lot bigger. They decided to put Lester Holt into the anchor chair in place of their fallen star and thankfully, things are going well.
Holt has been helping to hold down the fort at NBC for the last 15 years, and has anchored both Weekend Today and Dateline NBC. He has also filled in for just about everyone on the regular news team, including Williams. Behind the scenes, Holt is well-liked by coworkers and thought to be a real team player. All of that experience and support has no doubt helped Holt to keep NBC Nightly News ahead in the ratings.
According to a report by Entertainment Weekly, "With Lester Holt in the anchor chair, the telecast actually rose in the ratings last week by seven percent, up to 10.1 million viewers. The program was No. 1 in viewers and adults 18-49, though was second to ABC in the news demo of adults 25-54. The news show has only topped 10 million viewers four times this season, so for one of those times to be a week without Williams at the helm is certainly good news for NBC." explains the source.
Many in the industry believe that there's no way that Williams will be back because the network isn't going to spend six months distancing themselves from him just to reignite the scandal themselves in a few months. If that's really the case, and if Holt keeps doing a great job, this prime gig at NBC could easily become his permanently. Have you tuned in to watch Holt? What are your thoughts if so? Should he be named the permanent anchor for NBC? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
