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Brian Williams is gearing up to hold forth on Election Night, and even though he is no longer with NBC News, seems poised to hold forth from the early evening to the 11th hour during the national spectacle.
Williams, who left NBC News in 2021 after a nearly three-decade run, will lead a one-night special called "Election Night Live with Brian Williams." The show, which will begin at 5 p.m. eastern on November 5, will be made available to all Amazon customers via Prime Video, regardless of whether they subscribe to the streaming outlet itself.
"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."
Variety reported in late September that Williams and Amazon were in talks to host the special, which will likely vie for attention with the usual primetime news reports from traditional players such as NBC News and CNN. People familiar with the matter have cautioned against viewing the Williams project as a sign that Amazon intends to start producing news programming on a regular basis.
And yet, the digital giant does seem to be dipping its toes into the format after spending months building a presence in sports that includes the NFL's "Thursday Night Football," and, soon, regular NBA telecasts. Prime Video already offers an array of streams from established news outlets, including ABC News Live, CBS News 24/7, CNN Headlines, LiveNOW from FOX, NBC News Now, Noticias Univision 24/7, Reuters and The Washington Post Television.
"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, vice president and head of Prime Video, in a statement. "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."
Williams is expected to hold forth from a studio in the Los Angeles area and is expected to be ready to stay on camera for as many as seven to eight hours -- and potentially more. In the case of a close election in which results are too close to call, this person says, Williams may choose to broadcast for as long as it might be sustainable. The show is expected to rely heavily on the Associated Press for determining results by state that evening, and is aimed more toward explaining the news, rather than breaking individual pieces of it.
Williams will be joined by guests who will be named in coming days. Discussion during the evening will center around real-time poll results and commentary, while nodding to "third-party news sources across all political affiliations." Producers said Williams' contributors would include a "variety of experts across news and politics who will lend exclusive insights and analysis around real-time developments."
Jonathan Wald, a former executive producer of Williams "11th Hour" on MSNBC, who has worked in senior production roles at CNN and NBC News, will serve as executive producer of the program. Wald, who helped launch Don Lemon in primetime at CNN, was recently involved with that anchor's new program distributed via streaming video and social media.
Williams' show is backed by White Cherry Entertainment, a production company formed in 1999 by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner. The pair has produced previous editions of the Primetime Emmys, the Super Bowl halftime show, the Tony Awards, the Kennedy Center Honors and presidential inaugural balls.
