Amazon makes its live news debut as TV vet Brian Williams hosts election night coverage
Amazon’s foray into live news coverage began with a familiar voice and face. “Good evening. It’s been a while,” said Brian Williams, the longtime NBC News anchor, kicking off election night coverage Tuesday at 2 p.m. PT. “We’re so happy you’ve chosen to join us.” And so began Amazon’s first attempt at streaming live news. Williams moved between different areas of a sprawling set in Culver City, Calif., as he introduced a range of political commentators from various backgrounds and affiliations. Amazon has firmly established its Prime Video arm in the sports streaming world, airing ‘weekly’ Thursday Night Football” each… Read More
Amazon’s foray into live news coverage began with a familiar voice and face.
“Good evening. It’s been a while,” said Brian Williams, the longtime NBC News anchor, kicking off election night coverage Tuesday at 2 p.m. PT. “We’re so happy you’ve chosen to join us.”
And so began Amazon’s first attempt at streaming live news.
Williams moved between different areas of a sprawling set in Culver City, Calif., as he introduced a range of political commentators from various backgrounds and affiliations.
Amazon has firmly established its Prime Video arm in the sports streaming world, airing ‘weekly’ Thursday Night Football” each week along with a bevy of games from the NHL, MLB, NASCAR, MLS, and other leagues worldwide.
It’s now expanding the company’s live streaming ambitions by venturing into live news.
“This non-partisan live special will draw from major news sources and complement the various partner news channels available on Prime Video,” Albert Cheng, head of Prime Video, said in a blog post.
The stream on Tuesday was open to anyone, unlike Amazon’s NFL games, which require a Prime membership.
Amazon has used its NFL streaming deal as a way to fuel Prime membership sign-ups ($139/year) and create new revenue to fuel its growing advertising business.
Amazon has invested billions of dollars to buy expensive sports media rights and build out extensive cloud computing infrastructure required to stream games for Prime members around the globe.
There were a handful of ads through the first two hours of Tuesday’s election night coverage, including for Balance of Nature and Viking.com. Amazon also promoted its own shows and movies during breaks.
Commentators included longtime political analysts, reporters, and TV hosts such as Shepard Smith, James Carville, Abby Huntsman, Candy Crowley, Poppy Harlow, and others.
Some viewers criticized the set for being too large. Others said they liked Amazon’s coverage, while Williams was praised.
Here was the opening clip aired at the outset of the show:
