It's only a matter of time until Lester Holt is the full-time anchor of "NBC Nightly News." Disgraced Manging Editor Brian Williams is set to be pushed out of the picture, and possibly the network entirely, sooner rather than later.
Holt knows how important he is to NBC. He has kept ratings competitive despite the bad press surrounding Williams' "misremembering" of a 2003 experience in Iraq and basically no marketing or advertising budget. Holt also knows that NBC would receive backlash if it hired someone else to replace Williams, so he is asking for $10 million, the same amount for which Williams is under contract, to fully take over behind the anchor's desk, according to The New York Post.
Holt currently makes $4 million a year. However, his current contract is for his weekend duties with "Nightly" and the periodical appearances he makes on "Dateline." His duties are far more important and time consuming now, which is why he can renegotiate his deal.
"There's a lot of drama at NBC News," a source told the Post. "Lester's team feels that if he gets half of what Williams was making, the message to him and the newsroom is he's half the anchor Brian was."
An argument on NBC's side could be that Williams only began making $10 million annually after anchoring the show five nights a week for 10 years.
The source also told the Post that Holt "won't walk away" from the negotiations, but that he has the upper hand.
"There is no Plan B for them (NBC)," the source said. "This is Lester's chance to get paid."
