Tom Llamas Faces Viewer Challenges in NBC News Debut

NEW YORK, NY — NBC‘s Nightly News experienced a decline in viewers during Tom Llamas’ inaugural month as anchor after taking over from Lester Holt. The ratings for June averaged about 5.674 million viewers, a slight drop from Holt’s final average of 5.708 million.

Llamas, 46, began his tenure on June 2. In the key 25-54 age demographic — which is crucial for advertisers — viewership decreased from 828,000 to 823,000. In contrast, David Muir, Llamas’ former colleague at ABC, saw ABC’s World News Tonight ratings rise from 7.24 million to 7.308 million in total viewers during the same period.

World News Tonight remained the most-watched evening news program in June, despite airing only 17 times compared to Nightly News’ 23 broadcasts. The schedule was impacted by the NBA Finals, which preempted broadcasts on ABC.

Muir’s program achieved its biggest lead over NBC in more than three decades during the second quarter of this year, although Holt was the host for most of that time. Llamas acknowledged the challenge he faces in closing the viewer gap that has been present for over ten years. “I want to be number one,” he told The Washington Post in June, adding that success would not come immediately.

Nevertheless, Llamas noted some encouraging trends, including three weeks of viewer growth towards the end of June. Additionally, the gap in the 25-54 demographic has narrowed to its closest point in five years, suggesting that NBC’s promotional efforts are starting to have a positive impact.

While Llamas’ average in the 25-54 demo this June was an improvement from the previous year’s 774,000 viewers, it still represented a decrease of 10,000 compared to his 2024 viewership.

NBC has shown confidence in Llamas as he is also leading coverage of significant news events, such as the recent flash floods in Texas. The network’s ability to avoid a drastic ratings drop, unlike CBS’s Evening News after Norah O'Donnell‘s departure, offers Llamas leeway to potentially grow his audience.

In June, CBS Evening News garnered an average of 3.943 million viewers, a decline from 4.380 million a year before, along with a drop in the 25-54 demo from 606,000 to 524,000. The ratings landscape remains competitive as Llamas navigates this transition.