NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--2023 marks the 20th Anniversary of Barstool Sports, Inc. and it will be unveiling a host of new content for its 100+ million fans to celebrate this milestone. Kicking things off, the media juggernaut has announced seven new shows, five new live events and a new NIL marketplace for college athletes and creators to further solidify the company’s creativity, influence and impact on Millennial and Gen Z audiences.
These announcements were made at the company’s 2023 upfront presentation on Wednesday, September 14 at Webster Hall in New York City. The variety show style event featured talent from some of the media company’s most popular shows including, KFC Radio which just celebrated 10 years on air, #1 sports podcast Pardon My Take, #1 hockey podcast Spittin’ Chiclets, Chicks in The Office, #1 golf podcast Fore Play, Out & About, Mean Girl Pod, BFF’s, PlanBri, The Yak and more. The event culminated in a live charity auction hosted on live shopping platform Whatnot, where all proceeds went to the Crisis Text Line, which provides free, anonymous, real time support to those in crisis.
In addition, Barstool CEO Erika Ayers Nardini and Founder Dave Portnoy spoke about how the company plans to further expand its reach among the hard-to-reach 18-34 year old demographic and its unmatched influence to move products for brands. Nardini and Portnoy reported that in the past six years Barstool revenue grew 3650%; this year alone its workforce grew by 42%. They underscored how Barstool leverages its audience on every social platform to deliver high-ROI brand partnerships, which include 27 billion video views across its content. They also shared that 58% of listeners have purchased a product after hearing it advertised on a Barstool podcast, according to a recent audience survey. Barstool closed out the show with a look into the future of what is next for the company as it approaches its 20th birthday.
“Barstool is the most influential digital media brand in the country,” explains Erika Ayers Nardini, CEO, Barstool Sports. “Our audience are true fans of Barstool and the franchises we build. The deep engagement and connection we have to our audience base moves products for our brand partners that no other media company can match. 92% of our brand partners not only renew, but increase their yearly spend by 27%. We look forward to continuing to expand our reach as we celebrate our 20th anniversary."
Barstool’s key areas of growth and innovation for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023 include plans to:
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Add new talent and expand content from fan-favorite franchises and personalities:
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Pat Beverley Podcast: Fresh off his trade to the LA Lakers, Patrick Beverley will launch a new podcast in October with Barstool personality, Rone.
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Barstool Writer Cup: Various Barstool talent — Dave Portnoy, the Fore Play guys, Biz & Whitney from Spittin’ Chiclets, Big Cat & PFT from Pardon My Take and more — will compete in an epic team golf tournament filled with commentary and behind-the-scenes content.
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Pardon My Take Documentary: Fans will get a never before seen look at the history of the number one sports podcast, Pardon My Take (PMT), and the real time transition of the PMT crew moving from New York to Chicago.
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Take Quake Thursday’s: PFT Commenter (co-host of Pardon My Take) is launching his own show breaking down the best takes, boldest picks and biggest storylines of the NFL each week.
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Double down on reality show offerings:
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In 2022, reality programming on Barstool skyrocketed with its four shows generating over 25M views. The new reality slate for 2023 will be filled with creativity, humor, epic twists and of course, competition, including newcomers:
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Crush or Cash - Ria & Fran will bring 16 singles to a tropical location to build relationships, conquer challenges and ultimately see who is therefor love or money.
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Barstool’s Elite AthElite - Co-hosted by Barstool personalities, Jeff Lowe and Rone, 16 Barstool employees will live in one house, face daily obstacle courses and try to avoid elimination for a chance to become Barstool’s Elite AthElite.
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Briality House - BFF’s Brianna Chickenfry and Josh Richards will take over LA and mentoring social media’s up and comers to find the next big star.
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Dozen Xtreme - The popular game show franchise, The Dozen is spicing things up and going XTREME, combining trivia with nostalgic 90’s gameshow challenges to crown a Dozen Xtreme Champion.
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Surviving Barstool - Back for season 3, eight Barstool employees will be pitted against one another with the goal of surviving a week living in the Barstool office.
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Barstool vs. America - Barstool’s road trip competition is back for season 3 with two teams of Barstool personalities competing in bigger challenges in new cities across the US.
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Most Dangerous Game Show - Eight Barstool employees will once again be plucked out of the office to survive in the wilderness and face their greatest fears, and each other.
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Disrupt live sporting events:
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NYPD vs FDNY Charity Hockey Game: For the first time, Barstool Sports’ Spittin’ Chiclets will take over the broadcasting to exclusively stream the 49th annual FDNY vs. NYPD charity hockey game at UBS Arena on April 15.
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Barstool Sports Invitational: Barstool will exclusively produce and broadcast its first men’s college basketball tournament, the “Barstool Sports Invitational” on November 11, 2022 live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. The early season match-ups will take place between Akron, Mississippi State, Toledo and University of Alabama at Birmingham.
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Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl: Barstool will exclusively broadcast and program the Arizona Bowl on December 30, 2022. Now coined “Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl'', this college football experience will feature top talent Dave, Dan, Caleb and Rone calling the game and delivering fans a hilariously entertaining experience.
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Launch Platform to Connect Advertisers with College Athletes
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Barstool unveiled TwoYay, its proprietary platform that connects college athletes to brands and advertisers. TwoYay will always be free for athletes; Barstool will not take any cut of their deal, which will make TwoYay the most cost-efficient platform for advertisers and provide the best opportunities for participating athletes. By the end of the month, TwoYay is expected to be the most comprehensive user base of college athletes available within any marketplace by pulling from the Barstool Athletes network, which already includes over 150,000 college athletes across every division, sport, and state. This platform will serve as an extension of the company’s reach into the Gen Z audience, supporting college athletes and the greater creator economy all with an aim to give brands direct access to nano, micro and mega influencers. Beyond the college athlete, Barstool has added its 400+ college and city affiliates (Barstool Viceroys).
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Please find all media assets from the event here.
