On the latest edition of Sporticast, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams join forces with award-winning filmmaker and Slamball Founder Mike Tollin discusses the sport’s return after a 20-year hiatus in the United States and the current sports media landscape.
Slamball, a basketball game played on a trampoline, was originally launched in 1999 and attracted a small cult following on Spike TV in the United States. When the company closed, it continued to gain momentum overseas. This year, it returns to the United States, broadcasting nearly 50 hours of games and other programming on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. Outside investors in the eight-team league include Michael Rubin, David Blitzer and Blake Griffin in Las Vegas There were a handful of sell-outs, and the average audience for the ESPN window was about 105,000.
Torin talked about his desire to bring Slamball back and why 2023 is the perfect time to make it happen. He also discussed the league’s attitude toward big-name players (there are no basketball players fans may recognize in the 2023 season) and how to balance the competitive and entertainment appeal of Slamball.
Tollin is an executive producer of the film last dance, a 10-part documentary series about Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. He discusses the popular trend of unscripted sports documentaries. He also talked about how these shows could be included in future live rights deals. Slamball, for example, shot a lot of throwback footage this year and plans to use the footage during live games on ESPN next year.
Finally, Tollin addressed how two major entertainment news stories — the ongoing writers strike and the brief shipping dispute between Disney and Charter — are impacting sports fans and sports franchise owners moving forward.
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