Prime Video is officially in business with Brian Williams.
The Amazon-owned streaming platform has set an election night special, Election Night Live with Brian Williams, which will see the former NBC News anchor lead viewers through the returns on Nov. 5.
The special will see Williams joined by “prominent contributors” who will provide insight and analysis across the political spectrum. NBC and CNN veteran Jonathan Wald will be executive producer, with Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner’s White Cherry Entertainment producing the special. Weiss, the veteran of the Oscars, Emmys, Tonys and a slew of other live events, will also serve as director of the special.
Amazon, of course, does not have its own news division, so the special will combine some familiar elements like real-time poll results and commentary, while also referencing third-party news sources across all political affiliations. A politics RedZone, if you will.
The Hollywood Reporter had previously reported that Prime Video had been in talks with Williams on the special.
“After 41 years in the business – from local news to network shows to cable news – this feels like the next big thing. And the global marketplace of Amazon is a natural home for this first-of-its-kind venture,” said Williams in a statement. “Together we will follow the storyline on election night wherever it leads us.”
In an unusual move for Prime Video, the special will be available to Amazon users even if they do not subscribe to Prime or Prime Video. While the move is unusual, it is not unprecedented. Last year, Amazon made its inaugural Black Friday NFL game available to anyone, regardless of whether they were Prime members.
Williams spent nearly three decades with NBC, where he was an anchor for NBC News and MSNBC.
He led the flagship NBC Nightly News broadcast from 2004-2015, before stepping down after exaggerations and falsehoods were found in some of his reporting, including reports from Iraq and New Orleans after it had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Interestingly, Prime Video is framing the special as something that will complement its other news offerings. While the election special is the first original news programming that it has ordered, Prime Video offers a slew of free streaming ad-supported news channels in its “Live TV” tab, including ABC News Live, CBS News 24/7, CNN Headlines, LiveNOW from Fox, NBC News Now, and Noticias Univision 24/7.
“Prime Video is excited to host Brian Williams for a one-night-only Election Night special event. Prime Video provides customers access to programming that delights, informs and engages, conveniently offered in one centralized app,” said Albert Cheng, VP and head of Prime Video. “This non-partisan live special will draw from major news sources and complement the various partner news channels available on Prime Video. Our comprehensive offering is designed to give today’s viewer a direct and seamless way to keep up with election results.”
