It always appears to me that whatever Barstool Sports does is divisive. It’s either beloved or completely hated, with hardly any room for a middle ground.
Last week, Barstool Sports televised the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl, with Jake Marsh serving as play-by-play announcer alongside Dan “Big Cat” Katz, and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy. The broadcast drew mixed reviews from the Wyoming and Ohio fans that saw their teams participate in the bowl.
In full disclosure, I’d never call myself a “Stoolie”. I’m not a Barstool fan, and I’m not a Barstool hater. They have done some incredible things, like the Barstool Fund to help save small businesses during the pandemic, have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable causes during times of tragedy, and from a media aspect, have created some of the finest podcasts in the space. However, they also have had their fair share of foot-in-mouth moments that makes it difficult for an unbiased observer to fully embrace the dude-bro culture of the outlet.
But from my standpoint, the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl broadcast was a smashing success, and any other sports event, series, league, or conference that is or would be struggling for viewers should consider partnering with the empire.
The camera shots, graphics, replays, and overall presentation were top notch. Honestly, it was probably better than what ESPN would have provided for a third-tier bowl game. Barstool Sports treated the game like it was the National Championship Game, because to the online outlet, it was. It was a test balloon for them, and they passed with flying colors.
Now, the announcers were where the “mixed reviews” portion came into play. From my standpoint, Marsh was fantastic. He did a great job controlling the broadcast in — at times — a somewhat chaotic environment. Eventually, Big Cat and Davey Pageviews got in the swing of things and realized they needed to let Marsh call the action before trying to interrupt the play with their thoughts.
Katz and Portnoy went back and forth throughout the broadcast with unlimited candor — in true Barstool fashion — about who they were rooting for. Literally, on Wyoming’s first drive with less than two minutes gone in the first quarter, Katz said “I’m a MAC guy, and I’m rooting for Ohio”.
Essentially, the divide is down generational lines. Older viewers and fans were embarrassed that their prestigious, venerable, bastians of higher education would be associated with such a classless presentation. Meanwhile, younger viewers and fans were entertained by the complete lack of usual decorum and the frank nature broadcast.
Like it or hate it, Wyoming and Ohio playing in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl brought unrivaled reach. Outside of securing the Group of Five spot in the New Years Six bowl games, no other bowl site would have offered those programs more attention than the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.
And that’s where Major League Baseball comes in. I’m not sure if they’ve noticed, but MLB has seen a Grand Canyon-wide gap expand between the NFL and NBA as the country’s top two sports, with MLB now trailing well behind. We could examine why that is — which is a whole column in itself — but one of the reasons is the stuffy baseball broadcast and lack of reach.
A partnership with Barstool Sports for a weekly broadcast — similar to the YouTube Game of the Week, or the league’s current partnership with AppleTV — helps solve both of these problems. Will fans of the MLB teams participating in the games hate the presentation? In all likelihood, yeah. But the casual fan — the fan that MLB needs to attract more of, and rapidly — is likely to watch the Barstool Sports broadcast and be entertained.
Whether it wants to recognize it or not, baseball’s television broadcast future relies on gambling content as much as it relies upon broad reach. Barstool Sports isn’t going to offer the same reach as ESPN, FOX, or TBS, but it will bring heaps of entertainment, gambling content, and a newfound dedicated fan base.
To its credit, Barstool Sports has created a cult-like following. “Stoolies” will do whatever Portnoy, Big Cat, PFT Commenter, Kevin Clancy, and company tell them to do. And by god, if they say watch Major League Baseball on Barstool.TV, then their fans are going to do it.
If the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl was a proof-of-concept presentation that the growing media empire can produce top quality game broadcasts, they passed with flying colors. Hopefully, other sports leagues and events in need of more attention, notice, and viewers took note, because Barstool proved they’re a player in the space.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
