Kaylee Hartung is confident for season 3 of “TNF”

When Amazon hired Kaylee Hartung to be a sideline player for its Thursday Night Football broadcasts, she was “unsure” about her lack of “institutional knowledge” of the NFL. But as Prime Video gears up for its third NFL streaming season (with a slew of new sponsors in tow), Hartung tells SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane and Austin Karp on this week’s Sports Media Podcast that she’s feeling a lot of “excitement and confidence” ahead of the Bills’ game against the Dolphins on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

It helps that even her grandmother knows “TNF” is streaming on Prime Video — at first, industry observers worried people would have trouble finding the game, but Hartung said she’s “pleased” that people know how to get to the live stream. In her preparations for the season, Hartung noted that working with the teams at Prime Video, whether it’s pre/post-game or during the game, “feels like the vibe” is “different than any other” network, and she’s excited to bring “that excitement” to the streamer’s first Wild Card Game presentation this season as well.

It’s been a big year for Hartung, who not only worked the Packers’ game against the Eagles in Brazil in Week 1 for NBC’s Peacock, but also covered the games in Paris. Hartung was impressed by the “passion of the fans” in Brazil, even noticing people coming to the game wearing other teams’ NFL jerseys. She shared her observations on the NFL’s international growth as the world embraces American football. She also praised working with NBC’s Alex Cooper during the Summer Olympics, when the two spent time filming Instagram reels and reports together.

She even mentioned her work for NBC News and the “Today” show, and while covering news and lifestyle stories may seem different than covering sports, Hartung explains that her reporting requires “the same skills and editorial judgment to choose storylines.” Whether it’s the NFL or NBC News, “live TV is live TV, no matter what kind of story you’re covering. That’s what I enjoy so much about these two very different jobs — I get to cover the whole spectrum and hope my diverse experiences make me better at both jobs.”