RTG Features

What RTG Features does

RTG Features LLC is a privately held film and television production and financing studio that develops, co-finances, and distributes content exclusively focused on basketball storytelling. Founded in 2019 and launched in September 2020, the company operates as the "sister studio" to SLAM magazine within JDS Sports' diversified sports investment portfolio, which also includes Five-Star Basketball (300+ NBA alumni) and Streamwise. The studio's content slate spans feature documentaries (A Kid From Coney Island on Netflix, Alaskan Nets, Handle With Care, Good Shot, Gap Year, The House That Rob Built, Merv and the Miracles, Amongst the Trees), docuseries (The Sneaker Boom on Crave, Promiseland on Crackle, Pau Gasol: It's About the Journey on Amazon Prime Video, an untitled John Thompson project), an animated feature (Sneaks, with a 1,500+ theater release via Briarcliff Entertainment in April 2025), and a narrative podcast (The World of Five-Star). Source material is drawn from SLAM's 250-plus magazine issues, providing a proprietary editorial archive the company adapts into multimedia projects.

The business model centers on co-production and co-financing with strategic partners, including Alcon Entertainment, Westbrook Studios, Religion of Sports, Unanimous Media (Stephen Curry), Uninterrupted (LeBron James), Partizan (Michel Gondry), and Parks Tower Studios (Andrew Hawkins). Revenue is generated through distribution licensing to streaming platforms (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Crave, Crackle), theatrical distribution deals (Briarcliff Entertainment), international sales via CAA Media Finance and GFM Animation, and content development representation by ICM Partners. Distribution reach spans 200+ countries via Amazon Prime Video and global digital rights via Gravitas Ventures. The company is represented externally by CAA, Prodigy Public Relations, and Sirkin Tarnow, and maintains relationships with Ashland Hill Media Finance for production capital.

RTG's customer base is bifurcated: B2B distribution partners (streaming platforms, theatrical distributors, international sales agents) and end consumers across basketball enthusiasts, sneaker culture followers, and broader sports documentary audiences. With a 1–10 employee base, the company operates a lean production model that outsources scale to co-production partners while retaining creative and IP control through the JDS Sports portfolio structure. The company is led by CEO Aron Phillips, promoted from COO in January 2023, and is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Name

RTG Features

Legal name

RTG Features LLC

Website

https://rtgfeatures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

RTG Features is a basketball-focused film and TV production studio that develops documentaries, docuseries, and animated features. It serves streaming platforms and theatrical distributors globally, operating as the sister studio to SLAM magazine within the JDS Sports portfolio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nyack

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Co-production and Co-financing: RTG Features co-finances and co-produces projects with strategic partners including streaming platforms, studios, and production companies, sharing production costs and rights.
2. Distribution Licensing: The company licenses finished content to streaming platforms (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Crave, Crackle), theatrical distributors (Briarcliff Entertainment), and international sales agents for worldwide distribution.
3. Film Festival and Event Revenue: Projects premiere at film festivals generating premiere fees, awards recognition, and subsequent distribution interest.
4. Content Development and Sales Representation: ICM and CAA Media Finance represent RTG Features' slate to secure distribution deals and financing arrangements.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

RTG Features (Respect the Game) is a film and TV production and financing studio that focuses exclusively on basketball storytelling. The company develops original content and adapts articles from sister company SLAM magazine's 250-plus issues into scripted and unscripted multimedia projects including feature films, documentaries, docuseries, animated features, and podcasts. Projects are co-financed and co-produced with strategic partners and distributed through major streaming platforms, theatrical distributors, and international sales agents.

Product overview

RTG Features (Respect the Game) is a film and TV production and financing studio that creates basketball-focused content including feature documentaries, docuseries, animated films, and podcasts. The company operates as a sister studio to SLAM magazine and develops original content alongside adapting articles from SLAM's 250+ magazine issues into multimedia projects. The portfolio includes theatrical animated features (Sneaks), feature documentaries (A Kid From Coney Island, Alaskan Nets, Good Shot), documentary series (The Sneaker Boom, Promiseland, Pau Gasol: It's About the Journey, John Thompson docuseries), and narrative podcasts (The World of Five-Star). Projects are distributed through theatrical releases, streaming platforms (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Crave, Crackle), and international distribution partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sneaks (Animated Feature Film) Animated feature film produced for wide theatrical release, co-produced with Lengi Studios, Cinema Gypsy Productions, House of Cool, and Assemblage Entertainment.
• The Sneaker Boom (Docuseries) Five-part docuseries on the rise of basketball sneaker culture and industry, featuring NBA legends, co-produced with Crave (Bell Media).
• Good Shot (Documentary Feature) Documentary feature following Maxwell Henderson's story of redemption, co-produced with Unanimous Media (Stephen Curry), Religion of Sports, Westbrook Studios, and Iconoclast.
• A Kid From Coney Island (Documentary Feature) Documentary about Stephon Marbury's life and basketball career, executive produced by Kevin Durant. Distributed on Netflix.
• Alaskan Nets (Documentary Feature) Documentary about high school basketball in Metlakatla, Alaska, executive produced by Chris Pratt. Distributed by Good Deed Entertainment.
• Gap Year (Documentary Feature) Documentary following Darius Bazley's path to the NBA, co-produced with LeBron James' Uninterrupted. Released through 1091 Pictures.
• The House That Rob Built (Documentary Feature) Documentary about Rob Selvig's coaching legacy with the University of Montana Lady Griz women's basketball program.
• Promiseland (Docuseries) Docuseries about Ja Morant navigating the 2019-2020 NBA season during a global pandemic and racial justice movement. Distributed on Crackle.
• The World of Five-Star (Podcast Series) Six-part narrative podcast series exploring the history and legacy of Five-Star Basketball Camp.
• Handle With Care: The Legend of The Notic Streetball Crew (Documentary Feature) Documentary about the rise, fall, and rebirth of The Notic, a Canadian streetball collective. Nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards. Distributed by Gravitas Ventures.
• Pau Gasol: It's About the Journey (Docuseries) Four-part docuseries chronicling the end of Pau Gasol's basketball career. Co-produced with THINK450 (NBPA). Premiered on Amazon Prime Video globally.
• Untitled John Thompson Docuseries Multi-part docuseries on legendary Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson, directed by Kirk Fraser. Co-financed and co-produced with Alcon Entertainment and May 3rd Films.
• Merv and the Miracles (Documentary Feature) Documentary about the legendary 1982 college basketball game where Chaminade University defeated top-ranked Virginia. Co-produced with Michel Gondry's Partizan.
• Amongst the Trees (Documentary Feature) Documentary about an upstart men's basketball program at Copper Mountain College. Executive produced by Paul George under his The Pack Productions banner.

Quantifiable outcome

• Handle With Care nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards (2023)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

33 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Briarcliff EntertainmentflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 November 2024Acquired North American theatrical distribution rights to Sneaks animated feature. Planning 1500+ theater release on Easter weekend 2025.
• Gravitas VenturescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 5 March 2024Worldwide rights acquisition and distribution for Handle With Care documentary. Set March 26 release date.
• Heartland FilmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 January 2024Partnered with RTG Features to launch first SLAM Film Festival in February 2024 in Indianapolis, celebrating basketball-themed movies.
• PartizancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 September 2023Partizan (Michel Gondry's company) co-producing Merv and the Miracles documentary with RTG Features. Yogi directing.
• Crave (Bell Media)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 July 2023Canadian streaming platform and co-producer for The Sneaker Boom docuseries. Premiered November 2025.
• Parks Tower StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2023Andrew Hawkins' production company Parks Tower Studios entered co-production agreement with RTG Features to develop and produce cross-platform scripted and unscripted projects spotlighting sports and culture. First project is Hawk biopic.
• Alcon EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 September 2022Alcon Entertainment co-financing and co-producing the John Thompson docuseries alongside RTG Features. Alcon co-founders have long history with Thompson family.
• MSMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 August 2022MSM (The Last Dance) partnered with RTG Features to develop Run TMC documentary about Golden State Warriors trio Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin.
• Good Deed EntertainmentcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 February 2022Acquired all North American rights to Alaskan Nets documentary. Released on digital and VOD April 8, 2022.
• ICM PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 June 2021RTG Features signed with ICM Partners for representation in non-scripted television and film. ICM handles sales and deal negotiations.
• May 3rd FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 September 2020Kirk Fraser's production company co-financing and co-producing John Thompson documentary with RTG Features. Fraser directing.
• Creative Artists Agency (CAA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCreative Artists Agency provides talent representation and agency services for RTG Features' projects, handling deal negotiations and talent connections for productions.
• Prodigy Public RelationsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPR representation for RTG Features handling press and communications.
• Sirkin TarnowminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPR/legal representation for RTG Features.
• SLAM MagazineflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTG Features is the sister studio to SLAM magazine, with exclusive access to adapt articles from SLAM's 250+ magazine issues into films, documentaries, and podcasts.
• Five-Star BasketballcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of RTG Features alongside JDS Sports and SLAM. Five-Star Basketball Camp is one of the most influential institutions in basketball history with 300+ NBA alumni.
• Amazon Prime VideoflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming platform for RTG Features content including Pau Gasol: It's About the Journey docuseries. Distributes content across 200+ countries.
• NetflixflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming distribution for A Kid From Coney Island documentary (Stephon Marbury).
• CracklecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming platform for Promiseland docuseries featuring Ja Morant.
• CAA Media FinancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHandles worldwide sales for RTG Features content including Good Shot and Sneaks. Also handles North America and China sales for animated content.
• Victory Creative GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Handle With Care documentary alongside RTG Features and Victory Creative Group.
• TELUS OriginalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Handle With Care documentary.
• Uninterrupted (LeBron James' SpringHill Company)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUninterrupted, LeBron James' company, co-produced Gap Year documentary in association with SLAM & RTG Features. Distribution by 1091 Pictures.
• Westbrook StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Good Shot documentary alongside RTG Features, Religion of Sports, Unanimous Media, and Iconoclast.
• Religion of SportscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Good Shot documentary featuring Stephen Curry as producer.
• Unanimous Media (Stephen Curry)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStephen Curry's production company as executive producer of Good Shot documentary alongside RTG Features.
• IconoclastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Good Shot documentary.
• THINK450 (NBPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent arm of National Basketball Players Association co-producing Pau Gasol docuseries with RTG Features.
• Lengi StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimation studio co-producing Sneaks animated feature with RTG Features. Len Hartman and Gil Cloyd producing.
• Cinema Gypsy ProductionsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaurence Fishburne's production company producing and starring in Sneaks animated feature. Laurence Fishburne also serves as producer.
• Nike Waffle Iron EntertainmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNike's Waffle Iron Entertainment joined as executive producers for Sneaks animated feature, providing sneaker culture authenticity.
• 1091 PicturescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner for Gap Year and expanding deal to shoot basketball documentaries with RTG Features.
• Hot Docs Canadian Documentary FestivalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHandle With Care screened as official selection at Hot Docs Canadian Documentary Festival.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Players' Tribune: Athlete-driven first-person storytelling platform, founded by Derek Jeter and now part of Minute Media. Operates in the same athlete-narrative space as RTG but is a broader media property rather than a film/TV production studio.
• Andscape: ESPN/Disney-owned multimedia platform covering Black culture, sports, and entertainment through longform journalism, film, and TV projects. A broader incumbent that produces sports culture content at scale across multiple sports, with resources and distribution no startup studio can match.
• Skydance Sports: Sports content arm of Skydance Media producing premium sports documentaries, scripted series, and films with major league and athlete partnerships. A larger, better-capitalized incumbent operating in the same premium sports content category but at meaningfully greater scale and across multiple sports.

Direct peers

• Unanimous Media: Stephen Curry's production company focused on sports, faith, and family content across film, TV, and digital. Unanimous is a direct peer as an athlete-driven production studio and co-produced Good Shot with RTG Features, illustrating the deep collaboration and direct comparability between the two business models.
• Mandalay Sports Media: Sports-focused production studio backed by Mandalay Entertainment, producing documentaries, docuseries, and feature content with athletes and leagues. Directly comparable to RTG as a similarly sized sports-content studio leveraging athlete relationships and premium streaming distribution.
• Westbrook Studios: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's production studio producing scripted and unscripted film/TV content across genres including sports and culture. Westbrook is a direct peer that co-produced Good Shot with RTG, making it an explicit collaborator and a structurally similar athlete-affiliated content studio.
• Religion of Sports: Founded by Gotham Chopra, Mike Tollin, and Maverick Carter, Religion of Sports is a sports documentary and content production studio producing high-end docuseries and features. They are a direct comparable to RTG as a sports-focused, athlete-attached production company; notably, Religion of Sports is also a co-producer of RTG's Good Shot documentary.
• The SpringHill Company: LeBron James and Maverick Carter's athlete-led media and production company (which absorbed Uninterrupted). SpringHill produces scripted, unscripted, and branded content with major streaming partners. It is a direct peer — SpringHill co-produced RTG's Gap Year documentary and competes for the same athlete-storytelling pipeline.

Emerging players

• Overtime: Sports media company creating short-form and long-form original content focused on next-generation athletes, basketball included. An emerging player that overlaps with RTG in basketball content but targets a younger, social-first audience with different distribution economics.
• Boardroom: Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's sports business and culture media brand producing original video, podcasts, and editorial content. Boardroom is an emerging player with partial overlap in athlete-driven storytelling but is more media-platform oriented than studio production.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/rtgfeatures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rtgfeatures
• Instagraminstagram.com/rtgfeatures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RTG Features