Former NBC News anchor Brian Williams is reportedly in advanced negotiations with Amazon to host their 2024 presidential election night coverage on Prime Video. This would mark Williams’ first major broadcasting role since leaving NBC in 2021.
The planned coverage is set to begin at 5 p.m. Eastern time on November 5, 2024, streaming from a studio in the Los Angeles area.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Williams could be on air for seven to eight hours or longer, depending on how the election unfolds.
Amazon’s election night special would rely heavily on Associated Press data to determine candidates’ performance state by state. The program aims to offer non-partisan analysis and explanation of the night’s events, featuring well-known guests and pundits.
This move represents Amazon’s first foray into live news-related programming, though sources caution it should not be viewed as a pivot into regular news coverage. The deal between Williams and Amazon could be finalized as early as this week.
Williams, 65, was NBC News’ top anchor from 2004 until 2015, when he was suspended for falsely claiming he had been in a helicopter hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War.
After his suspension, he was reassigned to host “The 11th Hour” on MSNBC until his departure from the network in 2021.
The potential Amazon deal offers Williams an opportunity to return to primetime news coverage, albeit in a different format and platform than his previous network roles. It also signals Amazon’s interest in expanding its live content offerings, following their acquisition of exclusive rights to NFL Thursday Night Football last year.
As negotiations continue, both Amazon and Williams have yet to comment publicly on the potential agreement.