Barstool Sports and FOX Sports are officially entering into a partnership. Yesterday, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy made the announcement via The Unnamed Show, as the digital sports giant is teaming up with its second national television network on a three-year agreement. This follows their short-lived 2017 partnership with ESPN.
Portnoy was a guest on FOX & friends Friday morning to discuss the deal with the network. Additionally, he was asked to reflect on lessons learned from Barstool Sports’ previous agreement with ESPN.
“When we did the ESPN deal, they looked like they had a sour taste in their mouth every time they looked at me,” said Portnoy. “They, at the time, wanted to get two of our talent PFT Commenter and Big Cat. But they wanted nothing to do with Barstool.”
Notably, the short-lived partnership with ESPN in 2017 lasted only one episode, as Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Eric “PFT Commenter” Sollenberger’s Barstool Van Talk program was canceled after its debut. ESPN then cut ties with the partnership, which Portnoy says was a mistake on ESPN’s end.
“They’re embarrassed by it [Barstool Sports]. They didn’t want to touch it. They didn’t want to admit they were associated with it,” said Portnoy of ESPN. “FOX is the exact opposite. They’re embracing everything we do. They’re embracing why people like us. They’re basically being a true partner.”
Furthermore, Portnoy said that ESPN, behind the scenes, wanted exactly what the Barstool Sports brand delivers in terms of talent and audience. However, the front-facing side of the partnership told a different story.
“I never liked ESPN. I should have never done a deal with ESPN,” said Portnoy. “I hate ESPN. So, I’m very happy that we’re with FOX Sports.”
As part of the new partnership with FOX Sports, Portnoy will appear on FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff as a regular contributor. According to a FOX Sports release, Big Noon Kickoff will also feature appearances from a variety of Barstool personalities—including Dan Katz, widely known as “Big Cat.”
Additionally, Barstool College Football Show, the Barstool-produced program, will join Big Noon Kickoff on-location for select games throughout the college football season. The show is set to air across Barstool-owned channels from 9:00–9:45 AM ET, as well as across FOX platforms including Tubi, the FOX Sports App, and FoxSports.com. It will also feature appearances from Big Noon Kickoff talent.
In addition, Portnoy announced that Barstool Sports will debut a two-hour daily program on FS1 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. However, while no official start date or talent lineup has been confirmed, Portnoy mentioned the show “could” begin near the start of the college football season in late August.
Finally, the announcement from Barstool and FOX Sports comes just days after the network shook up FS1’s weekday lineup. Earlier this week, FOX Sports canceled three programs—Breakfast Ball, The Facility, and Speak—with no word yet from the network on what will replace The Facility or Speak.
To watch Portnoy’s interview on Fox & friends, see below.
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