Lester Holt to step down as NBC Nightly News anchor

(KYMA, KECY/NBC) - Lester Holt has announced that he will be stepping down from as the NBC Nightly News anchor and will be taking on a "full-time role at Dateline."

In a press release obtained by KYMA, Holt will continue to anchor the NBC Nightly News until "early summer before he devotes his energy to the rapidly-expanding powerhouse that is Dateline."

"It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do," Holt said in a letter to his colleagues at NBC News.

Holt added in his letter saying that he is "thrilled to be able to work more closely with my enormously talented friends at Dateline as the broadcast continues to grow and attract new viewers in new places."

"A smile comes to my face when I think that with Nightly News, and Dateline, I have now anchored two of the most successful and iconic television news programs in broadcast history. As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has. What an amazing ride," Holt expressed in his letter.

To read Holt's letter to his colleagues in full, click here.