Lester Holt Ends 10-Year Run as ‘NBC Nightly News’ Anchor With Hopeful Sign-Off: ‘Facts Matter, Words Matter, Journalism Matters and You Matter’

Lester Holt delivered his final report as “NBC Nightly News” anchor Friday after 10 years at the desk, leaving viewers with words of gratitude and optimism.

Holt, 66, earlier this year announced that he would be leaving “Nightly” this summer. But he’s not leaving the network: Going forward, he plans to devote himself full time to NBC News’ “Dateline,” which he has anchored since 2011.

“As anchor, it has been an honor to lead this program and an honor to be welcomed into your homes,” Holt told viewers on his last broadcast. “I’m so grateful for your trust around here. Around here, facts matter, words matter, journalism matters and you matter.”

He continued, “Over the last decade, we have shared some dark and harrowing days and nights from our country — the pandemic, mass shootings, natural disasters — each testing our resilience and our compassion. It’s why I often like to leave you with something to smile about, moments that reassure and connect us. I’ll miss our evenings together, and I will miss the team that puts it all together, my dear friends and my colleagues. But for now, I just want to say thank you to my incredibly supportive and patient family and all of you.”

On a programming note, Holt said Tom Llamas will make his debut as “NBC Nightly News” anchor on Monday, June 2. “I wish Tom great success,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Lester Holt Will Exit NBC’s ‘Nightly,’ but Not News: ‘I Still Had Gas in the Tank’

At the end of the broadcast, surrounded by the show’s staffers, Holt again delivered his signature parting words: “For all of us at ‘NBC Nightly News,’ goodnight, so long. Please take care of yourself and each other.”

Amid raucous applause from his colleagues, Holt then got a bit choked up, saying, “Oh my goodness. It has been quite a ride. Thanks, everybody.” (Watch his full sign-off below.)

Holt was named anchor of “NBC Nightly News” in June 2015, taking over duties after the controversial exit of his predecessor, Brian Williams. Previously, Holt anchored the weekend editions of “NBC Nightly News” for eight years and co-anchored “Weekend Today” for 12 years.

Prior to becoming co-anchor of “Weekend Today” in 2003, Holt anchored “Lester Holt Live,” a daily news show on MSNBC and served as a primary anchor for the cable network’s coverage of major news events. Holt came to MSNBC after 14 years at CBS’s Chicago station WBBM, where he served as the afternoon and evening news anchor. After studying government at California State University in Sacramento, he began his television journalism career as a reporter at WCBS in New York in 1981. The following year he moved to Los Angeles to report for KCBS (then KNXT) before returning to WCBS in 1984.

Watch Holt’s parting message to “Nightly News” viewers and a supercut of his coverage over the years: