Sources say that Lester Holt is demanding Brian Williams’ $10 million salary to take over his role on NBC Nightly News. Holt has been filling in since Williams, who was publicly disgraced for lying about being inside a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq, was suspended for six months following that lie.
Following an internal investigation, according to the Daily Mail , it looks as if Brian won’t be returning to the show, and Lester will take his place . Although Holt was hoping he would also get Brian’s salary in addition to his chair, inside sources revealed Lester was offered much less.
Lester Holt wants Brian Williams’ $10 million salary http://t.co/j27aE1TFg2 pic.twitter.com/ppwZgEvKts
— Page Six (@PageSix) June 11, 2015
Holt reportedly makes about $4 million per year for anchoring the weekend editions of Today , Nightly News , and Dateline.
Sources say that Lester holds all the cards, however, since NBC has no other back up plan if Holt doesn’t anchor the Nightly News, leaving the station powerless in the negotiations.
“He’s got NBC by the balls — because there is no Plan B for them. This is Lester’s chance to get paid,” one insider said to the Daily Mail . “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.”
Lester Holt took over for Brian on the news program after it was revealed Williams lied about a helicopter shoot down during a 2003 invasion in Iraq. He originally claimed to be on the helicopter that was “hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and was forced to land,” but revised his story after being called to the mat by veterans about conflicting information. He wasn’t on that helicopter — he was on one about half an hour behind the doomed Chinook.
NBC reacted quickly to the puffed-up tales of stolen valor. Deborah Turness, the president of NBC’s news division, described the tales as “wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position” and suspended the reporter for six months pending an investigation.
Lester Holt has filled in for Williams since the suspension began, as previously reported by the Inquisitr , and it appears he will remain in the anchor chair. However, his salary, which Holt insists should be in the $10 million neighborhood, has caused “a lot of drama at NBC News,” a source familiar with upcoming negotiations told the New York Post . It’s probable the station will offer Lester half of what Williams was making, since Brian only got that salary after hosting the popular news program after hitting the ten year mark.
[Image credit: Scott Halleran / Getty Images]
