NBC Nightly News (titled as NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network in the United States. First aired on August 3, 1970, the program is currently the second most watched network newscast in the United States, behind ABC's World News Tonight. NBC Nightly News is produced from Studio 1A at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. Select Los Angeles-based editions broadcast from The Brokaw News Center in Universal City, California, or when broadcasting from Washington, D.C., either from the NBC News bureau based at WRC-TV in the Tenleytown neighborhood, or NBC's secondary studio overlooking Capitol Hill.
Since 2015, the broadcast has been anchored by Lester Holt on weeknights, José Díaz-Balart on Saturday and Kate Snow on Sunday. Previous anchors have included John Chancellor, David Brinkley, Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams.
The program is broadcast live over most NBC stations from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time seven days a week; the "Western Edition" of the program occasionally features breaking news and/or updated information on news stories covered during the original telecast for Pacific Time Zone viewers. Its current theme music, "The Mission" (which debuted in 1985) was composed by John Williams.
Anchors[]
Weekdays[]
| Anchor(s) | Title | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| John Cameron Swayze | Camel News Caravan | February 16, 1948 – October 26, 1956 |
| Chet Huntley David Brinkley |
Huntley-Brinkley Report | October 29, 1956 – July 31, 1970 |
| John Chancellor Frank McGee David Brinkley |
NBC Nightly News | August 3, 1970 – August 13, 1971 |
| John Chancellor | August 16, 1971 – June 4, 1976 | |
| John Chancellor David Brinkley |
June 7, 1976 – October 9, 1979 | |
| John Chancellor | October 10, 1979 – November 14, 1980 | |
| John Chancellor Roger Mudd |
November 17, 1980 – April 2, 1982 | |
| Tom Brokaw Roger Mudd |
April 2, 1982 – September 2, 1983 | |
| Tom Brokaw | September 5, 1983 – December 1, 2004 | |
| Brian Williams | December 2, 2004 – February 6, 2015 | |
| Lester Holt | February 9, 2015 – present |
Weekends[]
| Anchor(s) | Tenure | Anchor(s) | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday edition | Sunday edition | ||
| Garrick Utley | 1971–1973 1990–1993 |
Garrick Utley | 1971–1973 1987–1993 |
| Tom Brokaw | 1973–1976 | Floyd Kalber | 1973–1975 |
| John Hart | 1976–1977 | Tom Snyder | 1975–1976 |
| Jessica Savitch | 1977–1983 (incl. some Sundays) | Cassie Mackin | 1976–1977 |
| Connie Chung | 1983–1989 | John Hart | 1977–1982 |
| Maria Shriver | 1989 | Jane Pauley | 1980–1982 (incl. some Saturdays) |
| Brian Williams | 1993–1999 | Chris Wallace | 1982–1984 1986–1987 |
| John Seigenthaler | 1999–2007 | John Palmer | 1984–1986 1996 |
| Lester Holt | 2007–2015 | Maria Shriver | 1990 |
| Jose Díaz-Balart | 2016—present | Brian Williams | 1993–1999 |
| Ann Curry Deborah Roberts Elizabeth Vargas |
1993–1995 | ||
| Bob Kur Chris Hansen Chris Jansing Chuck Scarborough Jack Ford Jodi Applegate Len Cannon Maurice DuBois Ann Curry Dawn Fratangelo Kelly O'Donnell Faith Daniels Jane Pauley Sara James Fredricka Whitfield Soledad O'Brien |
1996–1999 | ||
| John Seigenthaler | 1996–2007 | ||
| Lester Holt | 2007–2015 | ||
| Kate Snow | 2015–present | ||
International broadcast[]
| Country | Network |
|---|---|
| Europe | CNBC Europe |
| Latin America | CNBC Latin America |
| Middle East and North Africa | OSN News |
| Belize | Tropical Vision Limited |
| Bermuda | VSB-TV |
| Hong Kong | TVB Pearl |
| Italy | ClassTV MSNBC |
| Japan | Nippon TV News 24, TV Tokyo |
| Philippines/Indonesia | GMA Network, 2nd Avenue, 9TV, TAP Edge/Cnbc Indonesia,Indosiar |