The Prime Video crew for Thursday Night Football is almost set up, less than two months before their first regular season game.
Kaylee Hartung has been hired by Amazon as a side journalist, while Andrew Whitworth and Aqib Talib have been signed as contributors for pre-match, half-time and post-match coverage.
Prime Video’s regular season debut as the exclusive home of the primetime package arrives on September 15, when Kansas City hosts the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It’s been an amazing opportunity to start from scratch, to really bring in a new perspective,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of Amazon’s Global Sports Video. “We have great veterans who are at the forefront of their profession and at the same time bring in incredible personalities who have recently left the game. So that will bring a unique current entry.”
Hartung returns to sports after five years with ABC News and CNN. Previously, she was a secondary reporter for ESPN, primarily for SEC football and college basketball.
In a telephone interview, Hartung said she did not leave sports five years ago, but became a more versatile journalist.
“The range of opportunities has been great and I think it helped me prepare better for the next step,” he said. “This is the next big opportunity for me to tell great stories. Narration, whether it’s news or sports, is the craft itself. And that’s what has been so exciting about this opportunity, because it’s the biggest story in sports, and we’re talking about the NFL and a game in prime time that will have so many eyes set. “
Hartung will team up with announcer Al Michaels and analyst Kirk Herbstreit for game coverage. Hartung and Herbstreit did some events together for ESPN, but were never part of the same weekly team until now on Prime Video.
While Herbstreit will continue with college football for ESPN, Hartung’s last day on ABC News was last Friday.
“I’ve felt the excitement of both of them to be part of building something new. And I think for us getting to do it together will be a bonding experience, no doubt,” said Hartung of Michaels and Herbstreit . “Just having to learn from them, the ways they do their job and run their business, is an amazing learning opportunity for me.”
Whitworth, who crowned a 16-year career in the NFL helping lead the Rams to a Super Bowl championship, joins Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman as part of a studio team that played last season . Walter Payton’s former offensive and winning NFL man of the year tackle received a lot of interest from the networks before deciding on Prime Video.
“I was very excited when I had the opportunity to have a little bit of a vision of what they want to do: be a little innovative and change it and create a new and exciting experience. It was right there with who I am to create a culture and an atmosphere and really an experience, ”Whitworth said.
Talib played 12 years in the NFL, including winning a Super Bowl title with Denver, before retiring after the 2019 season. He had played a few NFL games for Fox the past two seasons.
Earlier it was announced that Charissa Thompson and Tony Gonzalez will also be in coverage before the match, at half time and after the match.
Donoghue said plans are still being finalized for some of the alternative channels that will be available during the games. Prime Video will have a few training games before the preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans on August 25th.
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