David Muir and Diane Sawyer
Ida Mae Astute/ABC/Getty
08/27/2014 AT 09:30 PM EDT
“I just want you to know what a deep privilege it has been to sit in the anchor chair these years … where Peter Jennings created a signature of such curiosity and courage,” she said while wrapping up the evening’s show.
And as previously announced, Sawyer, 68, assured viewers she isn’t “going far,” just “down the hall” and “up the stairs.”
“I am not slowing down, but gearing up in a new way, already at work on some of the stories that take you into the real lives around us, the ones we rarely get to see,” she said, also giving a nod to David Muir, who will be taking over starting Sept. 2.
“So one last time, it is good to know you were watching tonight … I thank you and I’ll see you right back here at ABC News very soon,” she concluded.
Sawyer is certainly leaving the program on a high note. In her final week, the show ranked number one in the news demo and won back-to-back sweeps among adults 25-54 for the first time in seven years.
