Steve Capus, NBC News President, leaving network

Steve Capus is resigning from his position as NBC News President, a post he has held for almost eight years. Campus announced his resignation today in a memo to his colleagues.

“It has been a privilege to have spent two decades here, but it is now time to head in a new direction,” Capus wrote, reports The New York Times. “I have informed Pat Fili-Krushel that I will be leaving NBC News in the coming weeks.”

Fili-Krushel has been overseeing all NBCUniversal operations for six months, after owner Comcast consolidated NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC into one unit of the company, notes The Hollywood Reporter. Ever since she was promoted, it has been speculated that it was only a matter of time before Capus resigned.

Capus was not a fan of the move, sources told the Times. Before she was put in charge, he had reported directly to NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke, but prior to his resignation, he had to report to Fili-Krushel, who reported to Burke.

Still, Capus wrote that it was an “extremely difficult decision to walk away,” considering that he celebrates his 20th anniversary with NBC this week.

NBC News has been in a state of flux in the past few months, with the Today Show suddenly having to compete with ABC’s Good Morning America. The network also had to deal with the sudden change at the show when Ann Curry was ousted from the co-anchor desk. That resulted in producer Jim Bell being replaced. In addition, he oversaw the creation of Rock Center with Brian Williams, a primetime newsmagazine that hasn’t performed will in the ratings.

However, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams remains the No. 1 nightly newscast, despite ABC’s efforts to promote World News.

Fili-Krushel did not name a replacement. Senior executives will now report to her for the time being. “NBC News is America’s leading source of television news and Steve has been a big part of that success,” she wrote.