When Ashley Nicole Moss first arrived at the CBS Sports HQ studios preparing to host Triple Threat, she informed the production team of her desire to contribute in multiple areas. As a lifelong basketball fan with a penchant for talking about the sport, she is looking to advance conversations beyond hackneyed topics, such as deliberating the argument about identifying the greatest player of all time. On the contrary, she seeks to embrace the current generation of established veterans and rising stars redefining the game, and is correspondingly penetrating beyond solely hosting the new weekly program focusing on hoops and culture.
Moss views being a host and producer as being tied in an inextricable manner as virtually being one in the same. In order to excel as a host, she considers it necessary to perceive the flow of the show, and it is something that she is doing in real time. As someone who has a natural inclination to take initiative and exhibit an indefatigable work ethic, Moss is appreciative of her colleagues respecting the insights she brings to the creative process and being genuine in agreeing or countering given proposals.
“I think just the combination of all of that makes for a show that’s really, really well produced because you have a just crockpot of ideas coming together and nobody’s afraid to speak their opinion, and you just need a team like that,” Moss said. “Nobody needs a team of ‘Yes’ people, and we definitely don’t have that at Triple Threat.”
Moss started hosting episodes of the program last month on CBS Sports Network and on the CBS Sports YouTube page, commensurate with her one-year anniversary working with CBS Sports HQ. While being hired by the media conglomerate, she was told that they wanted her to unapologetically be herself, remaining true to her personality and embracing the license to deviate from any putative archetypes. Additionally, Moss was immediately granted a platform for analysis and showcased her proficiency surrounding the game and versatility to fulfill multiple obligations.
“I’m constantly getting better at it, and I have opinions about it and I stand in my opinions,” Moss said. “And I can also host, I can also do an interview, but I also have my own thoughts and opinions, and they have really embraced not only me sharing those, but also embrace me doing it with my own flair, my own personality and my own untraditional methods sometimes.”
Taking the air with panache and poise, Moss offers more than highlights from recent matchups or inside information about transactions and injuries. With an avidity for social media and digital platforms, she stays keen towards off-court matters that tie into the game, such as arrival outfits, basketball sneakers and pickup games at parks around the country. As someone who grew up around New York City and watched basketball from the illustrious courts at Dyckman and West Fourth Street, she looks to continue carrying her passion for the game.
“Culture has always been part of basketball,” Moss said. “It is just people who have chosen to dilute it that have made the two separate, but they’re not. They’re very much a pair, and if you listen to just the true makeup of what the sport is, it’s everywhere and it’s very easy to intertwine the two.”
Moss utilizes social media platforms in preparing for episodes of Triple Threat for CBS Sports Network, evincing the nature of the conversations and potential pushback from fans. On top of that, she watches several basketball games at once with multi-screen television views, reads many articles and also reviews game charts after contests. Moss is enthusiastic about the growth of her program on CBS Sports Network, but she also parses other shows around the industry to observe how they go about their presentation and execution to facilitate avenues of potential development.
“It’s a plethora of things – it’s a constant learning course,” Moss said. “It’s constantly something that I’m educating myself on trying to get better at, not only as a host, not only as a sometimes producer, but as an analyst, and I want to continue to evolve and to grow, and in order to do that, you have to constantly learn.”
Although Triple Threat broaches critical topics in basketball with significant implications, Moss is cognizant about how to differentiate between a serious tone and exhibiting lighthearted repartee and mirth. As a host, she intends to bring a conversational approach to the show while remaining relatable and not abandoning her own persona. Throughout her broadcasting career, she has received auspicious feedback from industry professionals and consumers surrounding the relatability she exhibits, and it is something that safeguards from forsaking entirely.
“My hosting style is just a more polished version of the conversations that I have with my friends when it comes to sports,” Moss said. “It’s a little bit more polished – just a tad, not too much. It’s a little bit less lax, but I like to think of myself always and forever as a New York girl with a mic, and that’s really what it is.”
The show has utilized a rotating panel of basketball luminaries contributing to the discussions, some of whom have included Chris Walker, Evan Turner and Brad Botkin. Moss and her colleagues are still trying to determine the full rotation, but she is navigating the challenge of learning different personalities and aligning analysts for success with aplomb. Moss is familiar with the expertise of those appearing on the show and offering ideas for pairings that could adequately address certain topics.
“You know, ‘This person’s a LeBron stan. Okay, this show is heavy LeBron – we got to bring him in. And this person is more contentious in their opinion, so this is going to work really well against the person who’s this pro-LeBron,’” Moss explained. “….So it’s about knowing your panelists, knowing the topics or topic of the show and kind of being a little bit of a mad scientist and piecing those together and seeing what’s going to give you the best reaction.”
With multiple voices and perspectives on Triple Threat, Moss functions in an implicitly multifaceted role by guiding the conversation, conveying her thoughts and determining what will interest the audience. The difficulty in this undertaking can be in discovering intervals to enter a conversation without it being forced, but there are also instances where she takes command of the room and will occasionally cut people off. In the end, Moss is simultaneously balancing the triumvirate of outlooks in being a host, analyst and producer, encompassing the show title and ignoring traditional, divergent boundaries.
“You always give your guest the floor, and then if you see maybe it’s going on a little long or they’re starting to repeat or you have something that will add to this debate, you just find a way to cut in and add from there,” Moss said. “So it’s always a learning curve with new people, but I think the general rule is you got to take your pockets where you can take them and just let the conversation flow how it flows.”
Moss became more involved with NBA coverage through Sports Illustrated as the host of Laces Out, a digital program that examined trending topics and sneaker culture surrounding basketball. Over the years, she has also hosted several different podcasts, some of which include I Am Athlete on SiriusXM and We Need to Talk NOW with CBS Sports. Working on content in the on-demand format has yielded her a more direct line to effectively discern what appeals to consumers, along with gauging overall interest and identifying areas for future growth.
“I think that if you are really tuned into social media, it helps you figure out what the fans are talking about and what they’re interested in,” Moss said, “and for me, as someone who has really used that tool to help my career, I’ve always had a finger on the pulse of NBA Twitter or just sports Twitter in general.”
Most of the process in launching Triple Threat took about a month, and it was built on an aligned objective with minimal contention. Planning the debut of the show amid the proverbial dead period between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, she acknowledges the collaboration and teamwork involved in substantiating an idea into reality. While there are difficulties in not being a league rightsholder surrounding footage and highlights, Moss also views the arrangement as an advantage in being more honest and transparent, along with something that encourages creativity in fostering compelling content.
“We all shared the same vision, and I also have to give credit to CBS,” Moss said. “They trust my vision and they trust my voice and they trust my ability to lead this show, have vision for this show that will ultimately make it successful, so all the way around, I wish I can take all the credit, but it was a team effort, and our team is amazing.”
Nonetheless, Moss is not satisfied and aspires for the program to have a large studio setup and become a daily destination for basketball fans. Moreover, she hopes to win an Emmy award while with the network and continue witnessing a flourishing fanbase excited about the project. Even though Triple Threat is a new addition within a media ecosystem containing various networks and platforms competing for coveted shares of attention, she remains optimistic about the future and hopes to continue covering the league throughout the year with an insatiable appetite to climb towards another level with no end in sight.
“I want more,” Moss said. “I’m somebody who is overly ambitious and overly hungry, and once I complete one thing, I’m already thinking about the next thing. I’m already thinking about how I can make that next thing happen.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
