Tom Brokaw is leaving in December

When Tom Brokaw signs off on the Nightly News on December 1st, he's really signing off. It's official, that Tom will step down as anchor of "Nightly News" ending his career as the sole anchor of the NBC program, a position that he's had since 1983.



NBC confirmed reports about the departure date which appeared Monday in various trade publications. The December timing is not a surprise. Brokaw has said he will leave sometime immediately after the presidential election and a little bit before the inaugural. One of the reasons was to give his replacement Brian Williams, a chance to catch up to speed.

The network has been preparing Williams to take on Brokaw's role for the last few years. He recently left his own anchor position of his new program on CNBC to get ready for the big job.