Amazon said Thursday it planned to host an election night special anchored by Brian Williams, marking the company’s first venture into live news coverage.
TakeAway Points:
- Amazon revealed that it will be launching its first live news programme, an election night special hosted by Brian Williams.
- With live election results and commentary, Amazon intends to hold a one-night special on its streaming service Prime Video.
- Sports-related live programming has been a bigger focus for the organisation.
- Bain & Co. announced on Thursday it will expand its partnership with OpenAI to sell the AI startup’s tools, including ChatGPT, to the consultancy’s clients.
Amazon to go on live news
Amazon revealed that it will be launching its first live news programme, an election night special hosted by Brian Williams.
According to the report, the one-night special will provide election results and analysis on Prime Video starting at 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 5, the company said. Amazon emphasized it will be a “non-partisan presentation,” pulling information from a variety of third-party news sources.
Williams will lead the special and interview analysts across the political spectrum. Viewers will not be required to have a Prime subscription to access the stream.
“After 41 years in the business — from local news to network shows to cable news — this feels like the next big thing,” Williams, who left NBC News in 2021 after a 28-year run, said in a release. “And the global marketplace of Amazon is a natural home for this first-of-its-kind venture.”
Amazon expansion into sports programme
According to the report, Amazon has been increasingly moving into live sports programming on its Prime Video streaming service as a way to boost subscriptions and drive additional revenue to its lucrative advertising business. In July, Amazon signed an 11-year rights deal to carry NBA games starting with the 2025–26 season. Amazon also streams “Thursday Night Football” games and has the rights to stream some NHL games.
Now the company is angling to position itself as a “growing home for news viewers.” It offers streaming news channels on Prime Video, including live content from ABC News Live, CNN Headlines, LiveNOW from FOX, and NBC News Now.
Bain & Co, OpenAI expand partnership to sell AI tools to clients
Bain & Co said on Thursday it will expand its partnership with OpenAI to sell the AI startup’s tools, including ChatGPT, to the consultancy’s clients.
Last year, the companies had set up a global services alliance to make Bain’s clients aware about OpenAI’s technology.
The Boston-based consultancy has made OpenAI platforms, including ChatGPT Enterprise, available to its employees globally.
Bain is also investing in establishing an OpenAI Center of Excellence, which will be led by a team of the consultancy.
As part of the partnership, Bain and OpenAI will co-design solutions for the retail and healthcare life sciences industries, with plans to expand to additional industries over time.
Bain declined to provide financial terms of the partnership.
The consultancy is putting about 50 employees into the joint effort, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
