Global content studio and financier RTG Features has signed with ICM Partners for representation in non-scripted television and film it was announced TODAY by the agency. With basketball storytelling as its priority, RTG (which stands for "Respect the Game") focuses on original development, along with adapting articles from SLAM's 230-plus magazine issues into both scripted and unscripted multimedia projects ranging from feature films and television to documentaries and podcasts. Headed by COO Aron Phillips and founded in 2019, RTG has become the 'go-to' feature film and TV production company for everything basketball.
The first project represented by ICM is a partnership with the iconic basketball shooting game Pop-A-Shot® to develop an unscripted competition show for television. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2021, Pop-A-Shot® is the great equalizer, lending itself perfectly to the competition format as anyone can play the game. RTG is set to bring Pop-A-Shot® to life in a variety of different ways, with competitors ranging from professional athletes to celebrities to the world's foremost amateurs racking up points at local arcades and views on TikTok and YouTube.
RTG has a remarkable slate of basketball-themed projects that have already been announced, including the Ja Morant docuseries PROMISELAND now streaming on Crackle, a Pau Gasol docuseries headed to Amazon Prime Video later this year, a new documentary on John Thompson and the Georgetown Hoyas featuring the coach's last interview, and the documentary ALASKAN NETS, executive produced by Chris Pratt, which just won the Audience Choice Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Their first feature doc, A KID FROM CONEY ISLAND, which follows the career of Stephon Marbury, was released last year to great acclaim.
"Building on our recent momentum, we're excited to add ICM Partners to the team as we continue to expand," said Aron Phillips, COO at RTG Features and SLAM. "Their passion and commitment to the stories we want to tell is unparalleled."
Along with Pop-A-Shot®, ICM Partners will tap their global resources to identify groundbreaking opportunities and other entrepreneurial partnerships for RTG Features and their sister brands SLAM and Five-Star Basketball in the non-scripted field. Additionally, ICM Partners will play a vital role in creating international multi-media financing and investment opportunities in previously untapped and underserved markets and territories.
RTG Features is part of JDS Sports' investment portfolio which spans venture capital and private equity, and includes: SLAM, Five-Star Basketball, Streamwise, 1091 Pictures, 19nine, VidMob, Transmit, Dibbs, ReadyUp, Framework Ventures, and more.
Aron Phillips, COO of RTG Features and SLAM, previously worked for UNINTERRUPTED, a Los Angeles-based athlete empowerment brand co-founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, as senior director of development and as a development executive at their SpringHill Entertainment. Phillips has produced documentaries including The Carter Effect, Fight Mom and Gap Year, along with the recent Sports Emmy® Award-winning series, Greatness Code.
Comments
To post a comment, you must
register and
login.
