Tas Melas, Leigh Ellis, Trey Kerby and J.E Skeets will no longer be on NBA TV next season. The hosts of the humorous and quirky basketball show ‘The Starters’ will no longer be on NBA TV after the network has decided not to renew it for another season after having over 1000 episodes since its debut on the channel back in 2013.
According to the Washington Post, the contracts for all 4 of their hosts and the producers of the show Jason Doyle and Matt Osten, will run out after this summer, but it is unclear if they will stop right after the 2019 NBA Finals or if they will continue through the draft, free agency and summer league.
While it’s unclear why the network has decided to end their 6 year relationship with the basketball aficionados, the Washington Post went on to say that a source claims this is a result of AT&T making budget cuts since its’ purchase of Turner TV last year.
While this could potentially be the end of ‘The Starters’ on NBA TV, they will definitely be back in a different format. Before the 30-minute program, the crew had been infamous for their basketball podcast ‘The Basketball Jones’ and created a cult-like following for themselves and it would be a surprise to see them not make basketball content in some form or another.
