Brian Williams suspended for 6 months without pay

I think it's bigger than a suspension. Apparently they're daring him to resign. They've scrubbed his name from the opening credit, and supposedly they will be scrubbing it from NBC News website today. Also, apparently 6 months suspension amounts to $5 million!

As anchor Lester Holt stepped in for Brian Williams on Wednesday night, it wasn't just the embattled NBC Nightly News host who was missing--his name was yanked from the show's opening title credit.

Suddenly Nightly News with Brian Williams is simply Nightly News.

What's more, while the show's website continued on Wednesday to bear Williams' moniker, Page Six reports the NBC veteran's name will be scrubbed from there, too

Meanwhile, Williams' career at NBC is effectively over after bosses handed him a six month suspension according to industry experts who predict that the former star anchor is unlikely to read a teleprompter for the network ever again.

Six months without pay means Williams has effectively been fined $5 million. The network's former star man hasn't commented publicly about his punishment which suggests that he isn't thrilled by his bosses' decision.

'He’s not going to read a teleprompter at NBC ever again,' television news analyst Andrew Tyndall told The Daily Beast.

'I’ve never heard of this kind of public announcement saying, "We’re not paying you." Whatever has gone on behind closed doors, they’re daring him to resign.'

The severity of the punishment has lead some to speculate that the report being carried out into Williams had already uncovered enough damning evidence to make his position untenable.

Another option is that NBC simply do away with the Nightly News altogether, argues Michael Wolff in The Hollywood Reporter.

I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Especially if they are essentially trying to make him quit.