Beloved NBC Anchor Retires After 50 Years: Chuck Scarborough Leaves WNBC

Longtime NBC anchor Chuck Scarborough is officially retiring after 50 years. The New York Post reports that Scarborough’s final broadcast at WNBC will be on Dec. 12, with his official announcement happening tonight at 6 p.m. ET during his NBC News 4 New York edition. A source told the outlet that the Emmy winner, who is the longest serving anchor in New York’s history, called his time “historic.”

After serving in the Air Force, Scarborough, 81, joined WLOX-TV in Mississippi, later working at WAGA-TV in Atlanta and WNAC-TV in Boston. In March 1974, Scarborough joined his “forever home” at WNBC-TV as a lead anchor, covering major stories in the Big Apple such as 1977’s blackout, 9/11, and COVID. He also covered news locally and abroad, doing reports from Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, and South America.

Scarborough has been such a beloved and important face that the Empire State Building lit up in blue and gold last March in honor of his 50^th anniversary at WNBC. At the time, he said, “This has just been wonderful, and what a great way to kick off my celebration of 50 years cause it was a Monday on March 25th, exactly 50 years ago, that I walked through the doors of NBC and began this career that has brought me to this point.”

As of now, Scarborough’s replacement has not been announced, but it’s likely that will be revealed in the coming days, especially with his final show in just a matter of weeks. Those in New York and surrounding areas lucky enough to witness his reports will certainly miss him, and it’s clear that he had quite an impact on the city and beyond.

An NBC source called Chuck Scarborough’s career “an amazing run” and shared that the move was expected after he decided to work four days a week. Considering he was over 80 and still working proves that the decision could not have been easy, especially after such a long career. Although he had several co-anchors throughout his run, Sue Simmons joined him in 1980, working on the anchor desk together for 32 years, and were the longest-running anchor team in the history of television news in New York City. Scarborough will officially sign off for the final time on Dec. 12, and someone new will soon be taking over.