NBC Nightly News is the flagship evening news program for the National Broadcasting Company. It was launched in 1970 to succeed the retiring Huntley Brinkley Report, hosted by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. NBC Nightly News was anchored by a rotation of three journalists: David Brinkley, John Chancellor and Frank McGee. On September 5, 1983, South Dakota journalist Tom Brokaw debut as the sole news anchor. His popularity grew to rival another popular competitor, ABC World News Tonight's Peter Jennings. In the 1990s and early 2000s, both were involved in the longest stretch of fierce battle for ratings against each other. Brokaw retired in December of 2004 and handed anchoring duties to cable news anchor Brian Williams.
