Barstool Sports will look to add a new dimension to live sporting events on Saturday night, when the popular sports brand partners with DAZN for coverage of of the Canelo Alvarez-Dmitry Bivol fight live from Las Vegas.
An alternate audio feed of the fight will be provided by Barstool through a dedicated link. Fans purchasing the fight through that feed will hear Dave Portnoy, Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz, Caleb Pressley, Robbie Fox, and Rone and Large deliver Barstool’s coverage.
On his show this week, Dave Portnoy explained how important the upcoming broadcast is for Barstool and future coverage of live sporting events.
“It’s almost a test, and I think it could revolutionize how companies cover sports with a third party” said Portnoy of the fight having multiple broadcast options. “If we can deliver numbers, and to me, 60,000 buys is numbers, I think we have a chance to call the rematch for Serrano and Taylor, and for Canelo-Triple G. So, there’s a lot riding on this telecast this coming weekend.”
On an earnings call this week, Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden shared his desire to have Barstool more involved in similar type of events.
“Looking forward, we believe there is upside for the media business as we begin to realize the benefits of cross promotion with Barstool Sports and additional monetization opportunities.”
60,000 buys may sound like a high number, but Barstool has proven before that they can sell fights to their fans. The company’s amateur boxing company, Rough N Rowdy, has been able to produce buys for lesser known fighters, including a celebrity fight with former major league baseball star Jose Canseco.
Those events are different though than a Canelo Alvarez fight. Will Barstool’s audience tune in for a more traditional fight? Will the Barstool crew be able to create the same entertainment around a traditional fight as it has around their own created content? It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
Coverage begins Saturday night at 8pm ET/5pm PT. The main event is scheduled to start around 11pm ET/8pm PT. Those interested in watching the event through Barstool’s feed can do so by visiting www.Dazn.com/barstool.
