Amazon Prime Video to stream Brian Williams’ election special for free

Prime Video is officially in business with Brian Williams.

The Amazon-owned streaming platform has put together an election night special. Election Night Live with Brian Williamswhere the former NBC News anchor will guide viewers through the return on November 5th.

On the special, Williams will be joined by “prominent contributors” who will provide insight and analysis from across the political spectrum. NBC and CNN veteran Jonathan Wald will serve as executive producer, with Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner’s White Cherry Entertainment producing the special. Weiss, the veteran of the Oscars, Emmys, Tonys and a host of other live events, will also serve as director of the special.

Amazon, of course, doesn’t have its own news division, so the special will combine some familiar elements like poll results and real-time commentary, while also referencing third-party news sources across all political affiliations. A political RedZone, if you will.

The Hollywood Reporter had previously reported that Prime Video had spoken to Williams about the special.

“After 41 years in the business – from local news to network broadcasts to cable news – this seems to be the next big thing. And Amazon’s global marketplace is a natural home for this unique company,” Williams said in a statement. “Together we will follow the action on election night wherever it takes us.”

In an unusual move for Prime Video, the special will also be available to Amazon users, even if they don’t subscribe to Prime or Prime Video. While the move is unusual, it is not unprecedented. Last year, Amazon made its first Black Friday NFL game available to everyone, regardless of whether they were a Prime member.

Williams spent nearly three decades at NBC, where he served as an anchor for NBC News and MSNBC.

He led the flagship NBC Nightly News He was on the air from 2004 to 2015 before resigning after exaggerations and falsehoods were found in some of his reporting, including reports from Iraq and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated them.

Interestingly, Prime Video is framing the special as something that will complement its other news offerings. While the election special is the first original newscast Prime Video has ordered, Prime Video offers a number of free, ad-supported streaming news channels under the Live TV tab, including ABC News Live, CBS News 24/7, CNN Headlines , Fox’s LiveNOW, NBC News Now and Noticias Univision 24/7.

“Prime Video is pleased to welcome Brian Williams to host a one-of-a-kind Election Night special event. Prime Video gives customers access to programming that excites, informs and captivates, conveniently delivered in one central app,” said Albert Cheng, VP and Head of Prime Video. “This nonpartisan live special will draw on key news sources and complement the various partner news channels available on Prime Video. Our comprehensive offering is designed to provide today’s viewer with a direct and seamless way to stay informed about the election results.”