Insight into Amazon’s potential Brian Williams deal and TV news ambitions

• Brian Williams is close to a deal with Amazon to host an election night special on Prime Video.
• Amazon wants to attract large audiences with live events, similar to its NFL broadcasts.
• The special could lead to other news events on Prime Video.

Veteran news anchor Brian Williams is close to finalizing a deal with Amazon to host an election night special on Prime Video, three people familiar with the situation told Business Insider. Two said they expected it to broadcast worldwide and without commercials.

These people were granted anonymity to speak freely about private deal discussions. Your identity is known to BI.

Details of the special offer have been revealed in media outlets including Variety and CNN in recent days, although Amazon has not confirmed the deal and it is possible it will not go through.

News of the potential deal has raised questions in the industry about whether the tech giant plans to move as deeply into the news industry as it does into filmed entertainment and sports.

However, people involved in the deal negotiations rejected the idea that Amazon would create its own news division. They said Amazon viewed the special as another way to attract large audiences, as it did with the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” and other sports. According to Amazon’s latest release, the special has the potential to reach more than 200 million viewers, equivalent to Prime Video’s monthly reach.

If things go well, Amazon could repeat this approach in other major news events, said one of the people close to the deal negotiations. Those events could include the presidential inauguration or the State of the Union address, this person predicted.

“It’s a challenge for them to try to do other, seasonal special events beyond sports,” this person said. “There are news-related programs they could do.”

Two people involved in negotiating the deal said the election night special would likely be commercial-free. However, no final decisions have been made yet. But Amazon and other tech-focused streamers have seen how live programming like comedy specials and awards shows enable scheduling that can be extremely attractive to advertisers. Advertisers, and especially marketers with time-sensitive product launches, have shown that they are willing to pay high prices to reach large live audiences. Amazon began advertising on Prime Video this year, targeting nearly $70 billion in annual TV ad spending.

For Amazon in particular, filmed entertainment and sports programs – part of Prime Video – also serve to retain subscribers to the lucrative Prime service and get people to shop more on the platform. For example, Prime Video’s 2023 Black Friday NFL game displayed QR codes during breaks to promote deals on the site.

“This fits with their interest in disruption and attracting large audiences,” said the second person involved in the deal negotiations. “They want to be in the large events business.”

The shift from news to streaming has been slow

Big advocates for Amazon’s election night special include Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, and his powerful No. 2, Albert Cheng, vice president of Prime Video US. Hopkins has played a role in Prime Video’s aggressive expansion into sports, which has caused tensions with some on the entertainment side who see sports investments coming at the expense of film and television budgets.

If the deal goes through, the special would be produced by Jonathan Wald, a veteran TV news producer who executive produced Williams’ “11th Hour” on MSNBC and has recently been focusing on new news formats. For example, he helped Don Lemon launch shows on social media. Williams’ representatives at talent agency CAA were also involved.

While entertainment and sports have shifted to streaming, news has been slower to follow. Traditional networks like NBC News and ABC News have invested in live streaming content; CNN has planned a streaming subscription service, but there have been pros and cons.

Tech companies with streaming services have generally stayed away from news — which isn’t surprising given the high cost of running a newsroom and the polarization of news.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos rejected the idea of ​​the streamer covering breaking news in a recent interview. Apple TV+ entered news programming in 2020 with Jon Stewart hosting a weekly comedy news show. But Stewart pulled out after two seasons, saying Apple increasingly wanted more control over the show’s editorial direction.

Amazon, for its part, wants to offer a low-key presentation of the election results hosted by Williams and featuring a number of exclusive contributors. To provide an impartial feel, the plan is for hosts to stay away from the race and direct viewers to third-party content (which could include sites like CNN and NBC News, available through Amazon Channels). The event would be broadcast from LA so it could run late into the night.

And while some elements would seem familiar to a news audience, Amazon is expected to add its own flavor to the potential presentation, much as it spiced up the production of “Thursday Night Football” with on-screen overlays predicting what might happen next.