Journalist Brian Williams will be making his first debut since departing from MSNBC and NBC News in 2021 with an election night special on Amazon Prime Video.
“On the special, Williams will be joined by contributors across news and traditional media who will share poll results and commentary, according to Prime Video. They also will reference third-party news sources across the political spectrum,” reported Deadline on Thursday.
Produced by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, the special will begin at 5 p.m. ET and continue throughout election night, though a winner may not be declared during that time due to the presence of mail-in voting. In 2020, an official was not announced until the following day.
“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. Together we will follow the storyline on election night wherever it leads us,” Williams said in a statement.
Amazon has previously sponsored live coverage of major sporting events and the Rose Parade, though this marks the platforms first step into covering major news events.
“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,” said Albert Cheng, VP and head of Prime Video.
Williams apologized in 2015 for pushing a false story in which he claimed that, during his coverage of the Iraq War, he was flying in a military helicopter that had been “forced down after being hit by an RPG.”
“The story actually started with a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of Iraq when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG,” Williams said. “Our traveling NBC News team was rescued, surrounded and kept alive by an armor mechanized platoon from the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry.”
As PBS noted at the time, “members of the 159th Aviation Regiment’s Chinook came forward to challenge the anchor’s claim.”
“Speaking with Stars and Stripes, they said Williams arrived at the scene an hour later on another helicopter that ‘took no fire and landed later beside the damaged helicopter due to an impending sandstorm from the Iraqi desert,'” it noted.
“I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago,” Williams said on-air. “It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in the desert.”
“I hope they know they have my greatest respect and now, my apology,” he added/
