After nearly a decade as a familiar face in Kansas City sports broadcasting, Jared Koller has announced he is leaving KCTV5. And if you read his own words about the decision, it is clear this was not a simple or easy call to make.
This article covers who Koller is, what he did at the station, why he is leaving, where he is headed next, and what his departure means for KCTV5’s sports coverage.
Who Jared Koller Is and What He Did at KCTV5
Koller joined KCTV5 in 2015, which means he spent roughly nine years at the station. That is a long run in local television, where talent moves around fairly often.
His titles at KCTV5 included Sports Anchor and Producer, and later Weekend Sports Anchor Lead Producer. That dual role matters more than it might seem. A sports anchor presents the news on air — the person you see on screen breaking down game highlights and scores. A producer works behind the scenes to build the segment, manage content, and shape how the show comes together. Koller did both.
Before KCTV5, he had already built his broadcasting experience at KLKN8 and KOMU8. He was not a newcomer when he arrived in Kansas City. He came in with real experience and stayed long enough to become a recognizable part of the station’s sports lineup.
At KCTV5, Koller worked alongside other familiar names including Scott Reiss, Neal Jones, and Marleah Campbell. He appeared regularly on KC Sports Tonight, which was part of the station’s local sports programming. He was a consistent presence, not just a fill-in.
The Reason Koller Gave for His Departure
Koller announced his exit publicly on social media, and the way he framed it says a lot about how he viewed the move.
He described KCTV5 as his “dream job” in his hometown. He used the word “surreal” to describe leaving, and said it felt “kind of wrong” to walk away from something he genuinely loved doing.
That language tells you something important: this was not a sudden exit or an abrupt termination. There is nothing in his public statements — or in any available reporting — to suggest he was fired, laid off, or pushed out. His own words paint a picture of someone who took time to weigh a significant career decision and ultimately chose to move in a new direction, even though it was not easy.
Colleagues also reinforced this view. A Facebook post from someone close to the situation framed his departure as heading off to a “next adventure,” which aligns with the voluntary-transition narrative Koller put forward himself.
To be straightforward: no available evidence connects his departure to any controversy, conflict, or station-level crisis. The move appears to be a personal and professional choice.
His Next Role at Two Circles
So where is Koller going? He announced on social media that he is joining Two Circles, a sports and entertainment company.
This is not a retirement from media. Koller is not stepping away from the industry — he is stepping into a different part of it. The shift is from local on-air television to a professional sports and entertainment organization that operates differently from a traditional news station.
Think of it this way: it is similar to a journalist leaving a local newspaper to work at a media company that serves sports brands or leagues. The industry is the same. The type of work and the audience are different. Instead of presenting sports news to a general local audience every night, Koller will be working within a company built around the sports and entertainment space at a broader level.
For someone who spent nearly a decade in local TV sports, this kind of move often reflects a desire to grow professionally in a different direction — not dissatisfaction with the previous job. Koller’s own emotional language around leaving KCTV5 supports that reading.
Why His Exit Feels Personal to Kansas City Viewers
Local television personalities are different from national media figures. They do not have millions of followers or coast-to-coast name recognition. What they have instead is something arguably more meaningful to their audience: consistent, familiar presence over years in the same city.
Koller was not just a sports anchor at a Kansas City station. He was a hometown broadcaster — someone who covered the city he was personally connected to. That distinction matters to viewers. There is a difference between watching a stranger report on your city’s sports teams and watching someone who appears to genuinely care about the same teams and community you do.
Nine years is a long time in local TV. Viewers who watched KC Sports Tonight regularly saw Koller often enough that his face and voice became part of their routine. When someone like that leaves, it registers — even if he is not a nationally known name.
His own language mirrors how long-time viewers often feel about departures like this. Calling it a “dream job” and saying it felt “wrong” to leave suggests he understood what the station meant to local sports fans, not just to his career.
That emotional honesty is probably part of why his announcement got attention in the Kansas City market. It did not sound like a polished PR statement. It sounded like someone genuinely wrestling with leaving something they valued.
Context Inside the KCTV5 Sports Department
Koller’s departure does not happen in isolation. The KCTV5 sports department has seen other changes recently.
In December 2024, Marleah Campbell was named sports director at KCTV5. That is a notable leadership shift. Campbell had been part of the same on-air team as Koller, and her move into the director role marked a change in how the department is structured at the top.
Staffing transitions in local TV sports departments are not unusual. Anchors move, roles change, and leadership evolves. Koller’s exit is one piece of a larger picture at the station rather than a standalone event.
What it means for viewers on a practical level is that the on-air team they have been watching for years looks different now. Campbell’s leadership role, combined with Koller’s departure, represents a meaningful shift in the people behind KCTV5’s sports coverage — even if the programming itself continues.
For readers who follow the business side of local media, resources like Nextbiztips offer useful perspective on how media industry transitions play out at the professional level.
What This Transition Tells Us About Local Sports Broadcasting
Koller’s move from KCTV5 to Two Circles reflects something that has become more common in sports media. Experienced local broadcasters are finding opportunities in the broader sports and entertainment industry — roles that do not involve standing in front of a camera every night but still draw on years of media experience.
Local TV sports is a demanding space. Anchors cover a full calendar of professional and college sports, work weekends and holidays, and do it all for an audience that has increasingly more options for where they get their sports information. Making a move to a company like Two Circles at this stage of a career is not unusual — it is often a deliberate step toward a different kind of professional challenge.
That does not make the departure any less meaningful to the people who watched Koller at KCTV5. But it does help explain why someone would leave a job they called a dream to take the next step.
Final Thoughts
Jared Koller is leaving KCTV5 after nine years as a sports anchor and producer. He is not leaving because of controversy or a forced exit. By all available accounts, this was a deliberate, voluntary career move to join Two Circles, a sports and entertainment company.
He called KCTV5 his dream job. He said leaving felt surreal and wrong. And then he made the decision anyway — which is usually what a meaningful professional pivot looks like from the inside.
For Kansas City sports viewers who noticed his absence, now you know the full picture. He is not retiring, and he is not disappearing from the media world. He is just moving into a different chapter — one that takes him away from the anchor desk and into a new role within the sports industry he has built his career around.
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