Two years ago, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy purchased the company back from Penn Entertainment after it had ownership of the sports media brand in full for less than a year. Since that time, Barstool has continued its multiplatform growth while also undergoing changes in leadership with the departure of chief executive officer Erika Ayers Badan. Operating under the direction of Portnoy and other executives, the company revealed that it completed its biggest quarter yet with 29 billion cross-platform video views in Q1.
Barstool Sports creates multimedia content spanning sports and entertainment with headquarters in New York City and Chicago, and the company employs a team of dedicated content creators who reach sports fans from around the world. The company TikTok account accrued 10 billion likes for the quarter, marking the most likes for any company or brand in the world. On top of that, Barstool Sports covered more than 15 live events during the month, some of which include Super Bowl LIX, March Madness and the Barstool Classic.
During Super Bowl Week as a whole, Barstool Sports collected 487 million cross-platform video views and 23.6 million cross-platform engagements. Former NFL head coach and analyst Jon Gruden signed a multiyear deal with Barstool Sports last November, and he experienced 1 million cross-platform followers in five months. Gruden’s proliferation in followers is the fastest of any Barstool talent outside of Miss Peaches, the pitbull dog adopted by Portnoy last year. Barstool Sports also presented a March Madness bracket show during the quarter that amassed 8.9 million original video views, which was up 94% from the previous year.
As the year continues, Barstool Sports will present additional live events and create multiplatform content, some of which consists of BFFs Live, Camp Barstool and The Dozen Trivia. The brand also continues to engage in short-form content on social media, podcasting and merchandise sales, partnering with a variety of advertisers across the ventures.
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