NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt may retire next year — and his potential successor, Tom Llamas, is “looking forward” to his exit in what looks like a “slow-motion coup” at 30 Rock, according to a report.
Holt, who is reportedly earning a hefty salary of about $10 million a year, has anchored “Nightly News” since 2015, when he replaced Brian Williams, who was removed from his position and reassigned to MSNBC for making up stories of getting under the enemy. fire while reporting from Afghanistan.
In 2021, Llamas was named senior national correspondent for NBC News, as well as the prime-time anchor of a newscast that airs on NBC News Now. Since then, rumors have run rampant that Llamas was hired to replace Holt, sources told The Post.
According to The Ankler newspaper, top executives at NBC parent Comcast would be happy to see Holt hang up his microphone given that Llamas, his potential eventual replacement, earns a relatively modest salary of about $2.5 million in year.
In 2021, Holt, 65, signed a four-year deal to stay at NBC News. At the time, Page Six reported that Holt insisted on taking the title of managing editor in order to avoid a perceived threat from Llamas, who had just joined the network after a stint as the weekend anchor of ABC’s “World News Tonight.”
Llamas, 45, is said to be close to Cesar Conde, who heads NBC’s news division. A source told Page Six in 2021 that Llamas “is gearing up for a big role” and that Holt “negotiated a bigger title to avoid the threat.”
The Post has sought comment from NBC.
Earlier this week, Comcast said it was considering spinning off its cable networks that include CNBC and MSNBC into a separate company.
The potential spin-off would exclude the NBC broadcast network and the Peacock streaming service.
The company, however, is interested in finding a partner for Peacock to help grow that business, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said Thursday.
Shares of Comcast have been flat year-to-date, although the stock is up more than 14% in the past six months.
Media companies are eager to cut the salaries of top TV news stars as audiences shrink in the age of cord-cutting and podcasts.
Hoda Kotb, co-anchor of NBC’s “TODAY” show, announced that she would retire rather than accept management’s offer of a pay cut from her current salary.
Variety reported that her annual salary ranges from $10 million to $15 million, though a source told The Post it was significantly lower.
Comcast has also cut costs at NBC’s entertainment division. He got rid of the band on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and reduced the frequency of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” from five nights a week to four nights.
NBC’s rival, CBS, is also cutting costs. Norah O’Donnell, whose pay has been cut in recent years from about $8 million a year in 2021, will step down as anchor of the CBS Evening News after Tuesday’s election in favor of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois .
Last month, The Ankler reported that CNN denied raises to veteran anchors Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer.
Chris Wallace, former Fox News anchor, has reportedly been asked to take a pay cut by new CNN chief Mark Thompson.
Sources say Tapper’s salary is around $7 million, though the Puck newspaper said the anchor earns “millions more” than that. Meanwhile, Blitzer’s salary is said to be in the amount of $3 million.
Alexandra Steigrad contributed reporting.
By postal wire
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