Scott Pelley is leaving his anchor role with “CBS Evening News,” a position he has filled since 2011, two people familiar with the move said Tuesday.

Mr. Pelley will continue his duties at “60 Minutes” and devote more time to that role, the people said.

Mr. Pelley has consistently been in third place in the ratings among the newscasts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, behind Lester Holt of NBC and David Muir of ABC, who have traded victories this season. Mr. Holt is winning in the all-important 25-to-54-year-old demographic, and Mr. Muir has the lead in total viewers.

Although anchors at the major broadcast networks have lost some cachet in the last decade as viewers have increasingly migrated to cable news channels, the role is still viewed as a coveted news assignment. That is especially true at CBS, where Walter Cronkite was once a trusted presence each weeknight in American living rooms.