Let no one accuse Brian Williams of trying to lower expectations a week before his election night special coverage on Amazon Prime Video.
"This will be the first - if you'll forgive the phrase - new product introduction in the election night space since color television," the former NBC News anchor said shortly after landing in Los Angeles, near where Amazon is building a set for him at its massive new studio.
Amazon is the pioneer streaming service to compete in live news with television on its biggest night, a presidential election. And its headliner is the quintessential TV guy, one who told the world about the elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump from Rockefeller Center for NBC News.
Williams, 65, is certainly well known, but he's asking potential viewers to take a leap of faith. Amazon has no track record in the election space and, unlike NBC, CNN, Fox News and others who will cover the results on Nov. 5, has no news division behind it. Williams said he and his executive producer, a fellow former NBC hand Jonathan Wald, have "built a temporary, one-night news division over the past 60 days."
They have contracted with The Associated Press for video and Reuters for results data, and hired a stable of commentators and journalists to work that night. They include some of Williams' frequent guests from when he hosted "The 11th Hour" on MSNBC, including political consultants James Carville, Mike Murphy and writer-comedian Baratunde Thurston.
