Logo

Report: Tensions Are Running High at NBC as Lester Holt’s News Ratings Slip

Feb 23, 2018  •  Post A Comment

“ABC News has been crowing about its flagship ‘World News Tonight with David Muir’ taking the gold medal during the Winter Olympics, putting rival Lester Holt and his ‘NBC Nightly News’ in the silver spot,” The New York Post’s Page Six reports. “But sources tell Page Six that, with Muir passing Holt in overall audience and closing the gap in the all-important 25-to-54-year-old demographic, Holt’s bosses at NBC are beginning to sweat.”

The report notes that Brian Williams — who was replaced by Holt on the flagship show after Williams was caught telling some tall tales about his exploits in Iraq — is thriving over at MSNBC, which makes NBC’s situation that much more awkward.

“Sources tell us that if Holt’s stats were ever to get into terminal territory and the network needed to make a change in the anchor’s chair, the Peacock Network’s recent crises would put them in a major bind,” The Post reports. “We’re told that Savannah Guthrie — who has been a huge hit as ‘Today’ co-host with Hoda Kotb since Matt Lauer was fired for alleged sexual misconduct in November — ‘would absolutely be a contender [for the “Nightly News” gig],’ and that ‘before Matt was fired, you could make a case to move Savannah to [“Nightly News”], but it’s impossible to do that now.’”

The report adds that Megyn Kelly, whose morning show is struggling, would not be a contender for the “Nightly News” job.

4 Comments

  1. This is ABC hyperbole. It would be surprising if Holt’s ratings had not slipped during the Olympics, given that they’ve moved him to 3:30 PM on the West Coast. NBC has really struggled with scheduling the games in the different time zones and this was bound to hurt the programming they’ve had to move around.

  2. Chuck Henry, NBC Los Angeles news anchor would be the perfect fit for NBC Nightly News!!!!

  3. Bring back Brian Williams. Heck, with all the charges of “Fake News” these days, Brian’s anchoring might become considered “Double Fake”… and two negatives make a positive…so his newscast would become REAL NEWS!! Seriously, just bring him back. He has served his time, so to speak. The public won’t even care.

  4. Oh Please. It’s the Olympics that are dragging down the newscast. Lester will be fine. He’s the best of the 3 on the networks’ nightly news. He has the presence and gravitas that the others lack.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)