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Legendary New York City TV anchor Chuck Scarborough is leaving WNBC after 50 years, The Post has learned.
Scarborough, 81, is expected to break the news to viewers during his NBC News 4 New York edition tonight at 6, according to a source close to the situation.
The Emmy Award-winning newsman informed his colleagues at a 3:15 pm meeting on Thursday, the insider added. He said his last broadcast will be on Dec. 12.
Scarborough, the longest serving anchor in New York’s history, called his time at the network “historic,” a source with knowledge told The Post.
“The time has come to spread my wings,” the source said, paraphrasing Scarborough’s own words.
A spokesperson for the network declined comment.
No replacement has been named.
“It was an amazing run,” said an NBC source, who called the move expected as the anchor had been pulling back, working four days a week.
The person also noted the upheaval in the news business, which has been squeezed by cord cutting, and layoffs in recent years, making it a good time for the anchorman to retire.
A Pittsburgh native and Air Force veteran, Scarborough began his TV career in Mississippi at WLOX-TV before moving on to WAGA-TV in Atlanta, then to WNAC-TV in Boston.
He joined WNBC-TV in March 1974 as a lead anchor for what was, at the time, the new 5 p.m. NewsCenter 4 broadcast.
Scarborough covered major New York stories like the 1977 “Night of Terror” blackout, the September 11 terror attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The journalist has also led breaking news coverage locally and abroad, filing reports from Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico and South America.
Scarborough’s co-anchors have included the likes of Jim Hartz, Jack Cafferty, John Hambrick, Pat Harper, Dawn Fratangelo, Sibila Vargas, Lynda Baquero, Natalie Pasquarella and, most famously, Sue Simmons.
Simmons joined Scarborough in 1980 for the 11 p.m. newscast. They shared the anchor desk for a whopping 32 years.
According to NBC, they were the longest-running anchor team in the history of New York City television news.
Earlier this year, Scarbrough was feted for his astounding run at WNBC in true New York style. On March 25, the Empire State Building was lit up in blue and gold to honor his 50th anniversary at the station.
“This has just been wonderful, and what a great way to kick off my celebration of 50 years cause it was a Monday on March 25th, exactly 50 years ago, that I walked through the doors of NBC and began this career that has brought me to this point,” he said at the time.
