Nikki Battiste is heading back to NBC. After nearly a decade at CBS News, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist is joining NBC News as anchor of Early Today and a contributor to Today, with her first on-air appearances set for the week of August 10 across NBC, NBC News and NBC News Now (Deadline, 1 August 2026).

Battiste announced the move on her personal Instagram account, calling it "a true homecoming" and "a dream come true" (Deadline, 1 August 2026). The word "homecoming" is not just sentiment. More than 20 years ago, Battiste began her journalism career as an NBC Page — the network's storied entry-level programme — before becoming a production associate on Today (Deadline, 1 August 2026). Now she returns to the same building in a very different role.

Battiste joined CBS News in 2017, initially as a CBS Newspath correspondent before being named a full CBS News correspondent in July 2019 (Deadline, 9 July 2019). Over her tenure she reported for nearly every major CBS News programme, including CBS Mornings, CBS Evening News, 48 Hours, CBS Sunday Morning and the CBS News Streaming Network (Deadline, 1 August 2026).

Her reporting covered some of the biggest stories of the past decade. Battiste's coverage of the 2018 Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal helped uncover allegations against a Texas priest (Deadline, 9 July 2019). She also reported on the coronavirus pandemic, multiple mass shootings and the national debate over guns in schools, and was deployed to the Bahamas to cover Hurricane Dorian in September 2019 (Deadline, 3 September 2019; Deadline, 1 August 2026).

Her work earned recognition beyond the newsroom. Battiste was among the correspondents nominated at the 40th News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2019 (Deadline nominations list).

The departure also carries a corporate backdrop. In October 2025, Paramount carried out sweeping layoffs at CBS News, and Battiste was among the correspondents impacted, alongside Janet Shamlian (Deadline, 31 October 2025; Deadline, 29 October 2025). Her exit comes amid broader restructuring at CBS News under the leadership appointed by Paramount's Ellison era and Bari Weiss's administration (Deadline, 1 August 2026).

Deadline reported that it had reached out to CBS News for comment on the move (Deadline, 1 August 2026).

For Battiste, the circle is a neat one. She started at NBC ferrying guests and fetching coffee as a page. She built her reputation across a decade at a rival network. Now she steps behind the anchor desk at the place where it all began.