Former NBC anchor Brian Williams is making a comeback to election night coverage by hosting a special event on Amazon Prime Video. Williams, a long-time figure at NBC News, will be live-streamed on Amazon Prime Video for the election night special, with the streaming service announcing the broadcast will start at 5 p.m. Eastern time, although the end time has not been specified. The executive producer for the special will be Williams’ former NBC colleague, Jonathan Wald.
This marks a significant move for a major streaming service like Amazon Prime Video, as it delves into the territory of live election night coverage without its own news operation. While specific details about the show were not extensively provided in Amazon’s news release, it was mentioned that the broadcast will feature results from third-party news sources and will include various yet-to-be-announced guests for discussions.
Williams, who previously anchored “NBC Nightly News” from 2004 to 2015, spearheaded the network’s election night coverage during his tenure. Following his time at NBC, Williams transitioned to MSNBC where he hosted his own late-night news show until 2021. In a statement regarding his return, Williams expressed excitement about the upcoming event, stating, “After 41 years in the business — from local news to network shows to cable news — this feels like the next big thing.”
Amazon confirmed that this election night special with Williams is a one-night-only event for the streaming service. Williams and Wald were not immediately available for further comments on the announcement made by Amazon.
David Bauder, who reports on media for the AP, shared this information on Williams’ return to election night broadcasting. Follow Bauder’s updates on his page: http://x.com/dbauder.