Amazon Enters News With Live Election Coverage From Brian Williams

Amazon is dipping its toe into the news business, with a familiar face. Brian Williams, the longtime news anchor, will host a newscast on the evening of Election Day on Amazon Video, the company said on Thursday. The show, titled “Election Night Live With Brian Williams,” will deliver election results and analysis beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 5, from a studio in Los Angeles. No end time for the show has yet been set. The show will be made available to all Amazon customers, regardless of whether they subscribe to the company’s streaming service, Amazon Prime. “After 41 years in the business — from local news to network shows to cable news — this feels like the next big thing,” Mr. Williams said in a statement. “And the global marketplace of Amazon is a natural home for this first-of-its-kind venture. Together we will follow the story line on election night wherever it leads us.” Amazon said that Mr. Williams, who spent much of his career at NBC and MSNBC, would rely primarily on election results from third party sources, probably The Associated Press or Reuters. And the show will feature live expert commentators “representing a range of backgrounds and perspectives.” A longtime news producer, Jonathan Wald, will serve as the show’s executive producer and showrunner, while a pair of Emmy-winning live event producers, Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, will produce the show. “This nonpartisan live special will draw from major news sources and complement the various partner news channels available on Prime Video,” Albert Cheng, a Prime Video vice president said in a statement. “Our comprehensive offering is designed to give today’s viewer a direct and seamless way to keep up with election results.” Mr. Williams show will be seen as a test case to determine the streaming giant’s interest in live news. The company has spent the last few months expanding its offerings of live sports. The company has had the rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” and recently paid $1.8 billion for the rights to a slew of NBA games. Nicole Sperling covers Hollywood and the streaming industry. She has been a reporter for more than two decades. More about Nicole Sperling Brian Williams Inside the Media Industry — The Washington Post: Will Lewis, the C.E.O. of The Post, has said he has a mandate from the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, to grow the business, including through acquisitions. — Tina Brown: For Brown, a Brit who became synonymous with Manhattan media in the 1980s and ’90s, joining the newsletter platform Substack is simply a chance to have fun. — Hearing Things: After Pitchfork was folded into GQ, a group of former employees is striking out on its own. One of the first orders of business is doing away with album scores. — CBS: Shari Redstone, whose Paramount empire controls CBS News, criticized the network’s leadership for reprimanding a star morning show anchor over his handling of an interview with the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. — ‘SmartLess’ Podcast: Started during the pandemic, this venture is the first step in a media empire being built by the actors Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman.