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NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt could retire next year — and his would-be successor, Tom Llamas, “waits impatiently” for his exit in what looks like a “slow motion coup d’état” at 30 Rock, according to a report.
Holt, who is reportedly earning a hefty wage of around $10 million per year, has been anchoring the “Nightly News” since 2015, when he replaced Brian Williams, who was removed from his position and reassigned to MSNBC for concocting stories of coming under enemy fire while reporting from Afghanistan.
In 2021, Llamas was named senior national correspondent for NBC News as well as prime time anchor of a newscast that streams on NBC News Now. Since then, there have been rampant rumors that Llamas was hired to replace Holt, sources told The Post.
According to The Ankler newsletter, the higher-ups at NBC parent company Comcast would be happy to see Holt hang up his microphone given that Llamas, his likely eventual replacement, earns a relatively modest salary of around $2.5 million per 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 getting the title of managing editor in order to stave off a perceived threat from Llamas, who had just joined the network after a stint as weekend host of ABC “World News Tonight.”
The 45-year-old Llamas is said to be close to Cesar Conde, who heads NBC’s news division. A source told Page Six in 2021 that Llamas is “clearly being groomed for a big role” and that Holt “negotiated a bigger title to stave off 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 seeking a partner for Peacock to help grow that business, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said on Thursday.
Shares of Comcast have been flat year-to-date, though the stock has risen by more than 14% in the last six months.
Media companies are keen to slash salaries of top TV news stars as audiences shrink in the era of cord-cutting and podcasts.
Hoda Kotb, co-host 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 her yearly pay is in the $10 million to $15 million range, although a source told The Post it was significantly lower.
Comcast has also been cutting costs in NBC’s entertainment division. It got rid of the band on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and it reduced the frequency of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” from five nights a week to four night.
NBC’s rival, CBS, is also cutting costs. Norah O’Donnell, whose salary had been cut in recent years from around $8 million per year in 2021, will move out of the anchor chair at “CBS Evening News” following Tuesday’s election in favor of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
Last month, The Ankler reported that CNN denied pay raises to veteran anchors Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer.
Chris Wallace, the former Fox News anchor, has reportedly been asked to take a pay cut by new CNN boss Mark Thompson.
Sources put Tapper’s salary around $7 million, although the Puck newsletter, said the anchor earns “millions more” than that. Meanwhile, Blitzer’s salary is said to be north of $3 million.
Alexandra Steigrad contributed reporting.
With Post Wires
