Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart will anchor Saturday edition of ‘NBC Nightly News’

Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart is adding the Saturday edition of “NBC Nightly News� to his duties, the network announced Wednesday.

The assignment makes him the first TV anchor to handle two different evening newscasts on separate broadcast networks in Spanish and English.

While taking over “Nightly News� starting Aug. 6, Diaz-Balart will continue to lead his two Telemundo programs, “Noticiero Telemundo� on weeknights and “Enfoque con Jose Diaz-Balart� on Sunday mornings. He is also a frequent panelist on NBC’s “Meet the Press.�

“This is a significant moment for the broadcast and a true testament to Jose’s many talents,� said NBC News executive Janelle Rodriguez, who oversees “Nightly News.�

Both NBC and Telemundo are owned by NBCUniversal.

Diaz-Balart, 55, has been part of a rotation of anchors who have handled the Saturday newscast in recent months. With his new permanent assignment, he’ll step away from his regular English-speaking anchor duties on MSNBC.

For more than a year, Diaz-Balart hosted “The Daily Rundown� on MSNBC before the cable channel’s shift toward live breaking news coverage in recent months.

Diaz-Balart became the first Cuban American to anchor a network newscast when he joined “CBS This Morning� in 1996.

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