Tom Llamas saw a slight increase in ratings in week 2 of his hosting duties on NBC Nightly News, following his replacement of Lester Holt. Llamas was announced as the new host of the long-running NBC weeknight news program in March 2025, replacing Holt, who had hosted the program for almost a decade beginning in 2015.
According to TV Insider, Llamas saw a slight increase of 4% in ratings week over week from his first week of hosting. Although the show saw an increase, it was not enough to beat out ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir for the second straight week, coming in second overall and ahead of CBS Evening News.
What The Ratings Increase Means For Tom Llamas As Anchor Of NBC Nightly News
Slowly But Surely, Viewers Are Checking Out His New Brand
Although NBC Nightly News ranked second in the viewership metrics, David Muir, the anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, remains the number one choice among viewers of the nightly broadcast choices. CBS Evening News, hosted by John Dickerson and Maureen DuBois, remains in third place, still working to recreate its identity after former host Norah O’Donnell exited earlier this year.
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Llamas, winner of two Edward R. Murrow Awards, maintains a healthy lead over his CBS counterparts, as the brand visibility and legacy presentation of Nightly News allows him a more comfortable margin of error for the short term. The increase, although a small one, indicates that viewers are willing to give him a chance to show that he’s a worthy successor to Holt’s throne.
Our Take On Tom Llamas As The New Host Of NBC Nightly News
Change Is Always Uncomfortable, But He Should Be Given A Chance To Show His Worth
With a new anchor comes a change in approach and output, and viewers of NBC Nightly News are adjusting to Tom Llamas as their new presenter. Succeeding an incredibly popular and respected anchor like Lester Holt was destined to be challenging for anyone, but the viewership seems to be gravitating to him, albeit more slowly than NBC may have anticipated.
He’s likely to face stiff competition from his ABC counterpart, David Muir, who has been the number one viewed newscast for just over a decade. Llamas is still very early in his new venture, but having a storied program like NBC Nightly News greatly increases his chances for success while they work to pull viewers from Muir and, potentially, his stronghold on the first-place spot.
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