Shepard Smith returning to live TV news as part of Brian Williams’ Amazon coverage

Brian Williams isn’t the only former TV news personality to be making a comeback — albeit a short one — during election season.

Former Fox and CNBC anchor Shepard Smith has signed on to appear as part of the Amazon-producd “Election Night Live” with former “NBC Nightly News” and “The 11th Hour” anchor Williams.

Details about the appearance haven’t been confirmed, such as what role Smith might play in the coverage, though it’s not uncommon for traditional broadcasters to have multiple big names assigned to reporting or covering various aspects of the races.

Amazon announced its plans for election night coverage in mid-October 2024, along with news that it had hired Williams as the main anchor and face of the effort.

While Amazon has made big steps into live sports and event coverage, election night will mark a significant new category for the streamer. It’s also an effort that could prove tricky to pull off — with today’s viewers used to snazzy graphics, interactive touchscreens and virtual sets along with panels and commentators appearing throughout the night.

Smith previously anchored “The News with Shepard Smith” on CNBC until it was canceled in 2022. Prior to that he worked at Fox’s conservative commentary channel and was frequently cited as one of the network’s least-biased host. One of his roles at that network was to handle breaking news. 

Amazon indicated that it plans to announce more hires for its coverage as the big night comes closer.

Williams exited NBC News in 2021, having managed to survive a scandal where he was accused of fabricating stories about events during his career covering harrowing and dangerous stories, though he later claimed he “conflated” the details of some events with others he may have seen covered elsewhere.

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NBC removed him from the “Nightly” anchor desk, eventually making way for Lester Holt, and suspended Williams briefly. 

He later worked out a deal to help cover breaking news for MSNBC from a mini-studio the network built for him. His role on the network gradually expanded, however, and he rose to host the 11 p.m. show on the network.

Technically Williams and Smith were colleagues for a time — they both worked for NBCUniversal-owned properties. Williams himself also hosted a show titled “The News” for MSNBC from 1996 to 2004.