As we’ve reached the end of a very interesting 2025 in the news television world, Barrett Media is looking back on TV’s top stories of the calendar year, led by the change at the top of NBC Nightly News, with Tom Llamas replacing Lester Holt in the anchor chair of the newscast.
#5 – Will Cain Sets Cable News Debut Record for Fox News
One of the earliest cable news stories of 2025 was Fox News tabbing Will Cain to replace Neil Cavuto in its afternoon lineup after Cavuto departed the network after nearly 30 years at the end of 2024.
That decision almost immediately paid off for the network as it saw a cable news record on the debut of The Will Cain Show.
In his first program as a member of the weekday lineup at Fox News, The Will Cain Show featured an audience of 3.5 million total viewers, setting a cable news record for a debut program.
Additionally, the Tuesday show following the debut was the second-highest-rated Fox News broadcast in the 4 PM ET window since 2021. It was up 106% in total viewers and 128% in the coveted demographic compared to the 2024 average for the timeslot.
“I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to get such a warm welcome from the audience,” Cain told Barrett Media of his first-week ratings performance. “This show is going to grow exponentially over time in every way.”
For the duration of 2025, The Will Cain Show averaged 2.4 million viewers, making it the seventh most-watched show in all of cable news. Fox News featured the top 12 programs in the genre for the year.
#4 – Newsmax IPO Reaches More Than $250 Per Share
After announcing plans to take the company public in 2024, few could have expected Newsmax’s IPO to been the booming success it became.
On Monday, March 31st, Newsmax began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. After initially debuting at $10 per share, the price jumped to $16.50 in the hours following.
On Wednesday, the price had risen to just shy of $280 per share before closing the day at $233 per share, turning Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who controlled more than 80% of the shares at the time, into an overnight billionaire.
“I’ve always said in my life that life is a pilgrimage,” said Ruddy in the days following the IPO. “We go from the beginning until the end, and then we go to God. But it’s the journey along the way and the people you meet on the pilgrimage that make it so interesting and exciting. And I think the people on our pilgrimage believe that we have a special mission, which is to give the American people, this special country, the information they need to make great decisions that will affect the world, shape the future, and improve our freedoms. Not just for us, but for people all over the world.
“It’s a momentous time for me personally, but also I think for all of you. And I hope for the country,” he concluded.
In the months following the Newsmax IPO, the stock price has mostly hovered between $9-$15 per share.
#3 – MSNBC Rebrands to MS NOW
Cable news networks rarely, if ever, rebrand. Which is why the change from MSNBC to MS NOW is such a big deal.
After being included in the Versant company spun away from NBCUniversal, MSNBC was forced to remove the familiar “Peacock” logo it had featured for nearly 30 years, and develop its own, unique identity.
“The peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus shared in August as the new brand was announced. “This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”
“During this time of transition, NBCUniversal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity,” Kutler added in a memo. “This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering operation,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said in a memo to staffers about the change. “The future of our success is not tied to remaining within the NBC family and using the peacock as part of our identity.”
The company settled on the MS NOW branding, which is an acronym standing for “My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.”
Beginning on November 15th of this year, MSNBC officially transitioned to the MS NOW branding.
#2 – Instability, Constant Changes at CBS News Reigns Supreme in 2025
2025 is likely a year CBS Evening News would like to forget.
After longtime anchor Norah O’Donnell exited the show following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the show averaged more than 5 million viewers per night when John Dickerson and Maurie DuBois took over the anchor duties.
As the year went on, the show struggled to eclipse 3.5 million viewers on some editions, leading both Dickerson and DuBois to ultimately exit the organization at year’s end.
A new Executive Producer for the show was brought in in an effort to help the slumping ratings, as Kim Harvey replaced veteran 60 Minutes producer Guy Campanile, who had been tasked with leading the program.
After reportedly courting the likes of Anderson Cooper and Bret Baier as the next anchor of the venerable newscast, new CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss tabbed Tony Dokoupil as the next anchor of CBS Evening News.
“It’s a massively important show,” Dokoupil, who is leaving CBS Mornings to take over the reins of the nightly newscast, said of the opportunity. “It has a massively important history, it’s the oldest, boldest, most battle-scarred and proud show in television news.”
The network officially announced that Dokoupil will take the reins of the show on Monday, January 5th.
That was on top of President Donald Trump launching, and then ultimately settling a lawsuit against the network over its 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That settlement preceded the purchase of Paramount by the Larry Ellison-owned Skydance Corporation.
As part of that purchase, Paramount Skydance later also acquired The Free Press, the digital outlet founded by Bari Weiss. She was installed as the new Editor-in-Chief of CBS News. Her appointment followed the exit of leaders like 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens and CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon announced her departure in May.
#1 – Tom Llamas Replaces Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News
Helming a nightly newscast in 2025 doesn’t hold the status it once did. But it’s still a very high-profile job. Especially when you’re viewed as “the most trusted man in news.” That’s why the decision of Lester Holt to ride off into the proverbial sunset from NBC Nightly News, and being replaced by Tom Llamas, is the year’s top TV News story.
In late February, Holt revealed he would be departing NBC Nightly News at some point in the summer. Holt took over the nightly newscast on a full-time basis in 2015. He had previously hosted the weekend version of the show for seven years before taking the reins of the weeknight broadcast.
“After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News. 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 wrote in an email to staffers announcing his exit.
10 days after Lester Holt announced his plans to leave the anchor desk, NBC News named his replacement, and they didn’t have to look far. Tom Llamas rejoined NBC News in 2021 as a Senior National Correspondent. He had worked as the anchor of Top Story on the NBC News NOW streaming platform before being elevated to the main anchor chair of NBC Nightly News.
On Friday, May 30th, Lester Holt anchored NBC Nightly News for the final time. Tom Llamas began anchoring the program the following Monday, on June 2nd.
In the immediate aftermath of Holt’s exit, ratings losses were slight. By the end of the year, NBC Nightly News had closed the gap in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic versus ABC News’ World News Tonight to the tightest margin it had been in six years.
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