Brian Williams and Amazon are asking election night news-seekers to take a leap of faith with them

Let nary 1 impeach Brian Williams of trying to little expectations a week earlier his election nighttime special sum connected Amazon Prime Video.

“This will beryllium nan first — if you'll forgive nan building — caller merchandise preamble successful nan predetermination nighttime abstraction since colour television,” nan erstwhile NBC News anchor said soon aft landing successful Los Angeles, adjacent wherever Amazon is building a group for him astatine its monolithic caller studio.

Amazon is nan pioneer streaming work to compete successful unrecorded news pinch tv connected its biggest night, a statesmanlike election. And its headliner is nan quintessential TV guy, 1 who told nan world astir nan elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump from Rockefeller Center for NBC News.

Williams, 65, is surely good known, but he's asking imaginable viewers to return a leap of faith. Amazon has nary way grounds successful nan predetermination abstraction and, dissimilar NBC, CNN, Fox News and others who will screen nan results connected Nov. 5, has nary news section down it. Williams said he and his executive producer, a chap erstwhile NBC manus Jonathan Wald, person “built a temporary, one-night news section complete nan past 60 days.”

They person contracted pinch The Associated Press for video and Reuters for results data, and hired a unchangeable of commentators and journalists to activity that night. They see immoderate of Williams' predominant guests from erstwhile he hosted “The 11th Hour” connected MSNBC, including governmental consultants James Carville, Mike Murphy and writer-comedian Baratunde Thurston.

Former Fox News anchor Shepard Smith will beryllium stationed astatine Democrat Kamala Harris' predetermination nighttime headquarters, pinch Tara Palmeri of Puck astatine Republican Trump's. Others connected their one-night unit see historiographer Douglas Brinkley, erstwhile “The View” co-host Abby Huntsman, nan Washington Post's Jackie Alemany, ex-CNN and ABC News newsman Jessica Yellin and erstwhile U.S. Rep Tim Ryan of Ohio. Reporters from Axios, Politico and Puck will besides beryllium moving for nan Amazon team, Wald said.

In galore respects, it will beryllium for illustration a acquainted predetermination nighttime tv newscast — acceptance speeches aired, pundits opining. Amazon won't person its ain determination desk, but nan broadcast will talk erstwhile different news organizations telephone individual states. “All viewpoints will beryllium represented,” Williams said. “We are striving to screen it consecutive pinch minimal drama.”

“Now that nan ‘magic walls’ person been astir for a fewer cycles, we get it, we understand it," he said. "So we'll conscionable trot retired a fewer caller things that viewers haven't seen before. There is simply a look to predetermination night. We're not going to break that.”

They'll run from nan elephantine erstwhile MGM soundstage, wherever “The Wizard of Oz” and countless different productions originated, bought by Amazon and tricked retired pinch nan latest gadgetry.

“It is accepted successful nan consciousness that you person a traditionalist successful Brian Williams,” Wald said. “But everything other astir it, from wherever it is connected and really we are presenting things, is new.”

Wald promises a broadcast that he says will look much streamlined, little cluttered, than its rivals. A emblematic news section often brings everyone it has disposable into its predetermination nighttime coverage, and often it feels that way.

Even earlier this event, Amazon laminitis and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos has played a domiciled successful nan election. Also nan proprietor of The Washington Post, Bezos was instrumental successful nan newspaper's decision announced Friday not to endorse either Harris aliases Trump, causing an uprising among galore astatine nan newspaper.

Williams anchored “NBC Nightly News,” past nan top-rated evening newscast, from 2004 to 2015, losing that occupation aft embellishing his role successful warfare coverage. Given a second chance, he hosted “The 11th Hour” connected MSNBC from 2016 until signing disconnected successful December 2021.

He's kept a debased floor plan ever since, enjoying a grandson calved conscionable days earlier leaving MSNBC, and unpaid firefighting down astatine nan Jersey Shore until Amazon came calling.

“This is nan first point that really made my toed tap,” he said. “This sewage immoderate aged competitory juices flowing — accent connected old. It is simply a weird spot to beryllium because you cognize maine good capable to cognize location was nary much bullish broadcaster than I was. I wholly believed successful over-the-air broadcast news, and cable.”

Yet each tv executive he's talked to tells him that streaming represents nan future, if not nan present. “This feels for illustration a chance to get connected a train that is leaving nan station,” said Williams, who said by telephone Sunday from an airdrome successful Los Angeles.

The predetermination nighttime newscast will statesman astatine 5 p.m. Eastern clip connected Nov. 5. It will beryllium disposable for free to anyone pinch a instrumentality who logs connected to amazon.com: nary subscription aliases log-on will beryllium necessary.

Williams is prepared for nan anticipation that nan eventual enigma — who’s going to beryllium nan adjacent president — will not beryllium known by nan clip he has to motion off. That will astir apt beryllium astir 10 hours aft he starts springiness aliases return immoderate time. “A batch of of bully power drinks person travel retired successful nan past mates of years,” he joked.

Williams said he has nary thought what this intends for himself, aliases Amazon, aft Nov. 5.

“It's a large undertaking and they're taking a large plaything pinch this,” he said. “All I cognize is my portion successful it, and that's 1 night. I don't cognize if we're going to look backmost connected this arsenic a first for Amazon aliases arsenic an research for Amazon. I don't know. That's up to them.”

___

David Bauder writes astir media for nan AP. Follow him astatine http://x.com/dbauder.