Lester Holt met his biggest, pint-sized fan, famous for appearing in a viral video in which the boy told a local Portland newsman that he’d rather get interviewed by by the “Nightly News” anchor. Video of the moment has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and earned a mention from Holt on the NBC program.
On Tuesday, Holt made dreams come true when he invited the 7-year-old, Jaden, to the “Nightly News” studio at 30 Rock in New York City. Jaden got to visit the control room, sit in the director’s chair and tour the studio with his family.
Jaden, an avid violin player, performed for Holt in his office. The anchor (and acclaimed guitarist) reciprocated by teaching Jaden some tips on the electric bass.
Meanwhile, “Nightly News” is the most-watched evening newscast of the season, across the board, after finishing No. 1 in the key news demo of adults age 25-54 for the week of Feb. 13, averaging 2 million demo viewers per night. Holt beat “ABC World News Tonight” by 10 percent and “CBS Evening News” by 27 percent and holds its largest demo leads over ABC and CBS in three seasons.
ABC’s newscast won the total viewers crown last week, averaging 8.7 million compared to 8.5 million for NBC. “CBS Evening News” finished third, averaging 7.1 million viewers.
“Nightly News” has now ranked No. 1 in the key demo for 81 of the past 82 weeks.