Rethinking Barstool?

TFP

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Barstool announces Barstool Gold, a subscription service for premium content for $1 and $2/wk tiers. None of the existing content is going behind the paywall, all new bonus stuff is. Sounds like it's directed by Chernin to provide them a guaranteed revenue stream to avoid being at the whims of their ad sponsors.

I'll be very interested to see if this works out as a business model.
 

JCizzle

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Barstool announces Barstool Gold, a subscription service for premium content for $1 and $2/wk tiers. None of the existing content is going behind the paywall, all new bonus stuff is. Sounds like it's directed by Chernin to provide them a guaranteed revenue stream to avoid being at the whims of their ad sponsors.

I'll be very interested to see if this works out as a business model.
I'm not really seeing the value personally. I usually listen to podcasts at work or while exercising. I'm sure watching PMT would be funny, but I don't have 3+ hours a week to watch something like that. It's perfect in audio format.
 

kenneycb

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It’s extra content. Basically the same thing some podcasters are doing with Patreon and probably where things are heading in podcasting, at least successful podcasting, in general.
 

CantKeepmedown

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I would like to see the documentary, actually. But other than that, there's not much else. AMA's from the personalities? Pass. Skype rundowns? No thanks. I enjoy the podcasts because I can listen to them in the car or when I'm out and about. If I have time to sit and watch something, I can't imagine it would be a podcast.

I'll be anxious to see how smoothly this rolls out and what the numbers look like.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Im not a fan of the majority of their stuff, but those comment sections were other level bad. That’s certainly an improvement, but the deadspin article does raise the valid point that maybe Portnoy and crew should wonder why the scum that littered their comments section felt comfortable at their site.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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It sounds like he closed comments for a few days...then opened then back up with the warning that people will be banned. Unless you subscribe and pay for their new tiered membership area, where you can comment away with reckless abandon.
 

NickEsasky

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Portnoy is an asshat and not a real media member so no reason for him to be credentialed. But PMT is the number 1 sports podcast in the country, and they get huge guests. PFT and BigCat not having media passes at this point is silly.
 

Haunted

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Link says arrested, they weren’t. Story doesn’t say they were. They were cited for trespassing. I’m only pointing this out for those that don’t click thru.
It seems like they updated the article but not the title or link.
 

kenneycb

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Portnoy is an asshat and not a real media member so no reason for him to be credentialed. But PMT is the number 1 sports podcast in the country, and they get huge guests. PFT and BigCat not having media passes at this point is silly.
I don’t think they actually want media passes.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Portnoy is an asshat and not a real media member so no reason for him to be credentialed. But PMT is the number 1 sports podcast in the country, and they get huge guests. PFT and BigCat not having media passes at this point is silly.
PFT and BigCat realizing that they could do very well on their own and the PMT brand without being associated with Portnoy and his particular brand of dickishness is something that I feel is going to happen eventually.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Doesn't Big Cat have an ownership stake in Barstool now?
I honestly don't know. Just noting that PMT is kind of its own thing now, not really subservient to the Barstool umbrella.

Plus Portnoy's a complete toolbag and asshole. At some point I wonder if he's going to blow up the whole thing by doing something totally offensive.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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If there is a risk surrounding PMT, its more of a falling out between Big Cat and PFT than them leaving the Barstool umbrella. Both guys seem to relish their roles and don't strike me as being inclined to get involved with all the nuts and bolts around producing their own show with no infrastructure etc.

Instead I can see their partnership getting strained over time like most do (Mike & Maddog, Mike & Mike, Opie And Anthony etc).

Barstool and Portnoy, for better or worse, allow those guys to mostly focus on content and that benefit as well as the marginal access to advertisers is worth a lot.
 

deanx0

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I think Big Cat has a loyalty to Barstool (and an ownership stake) that PFT does not. It seemed pretty clear to me during the ESPN Van Talk debacle that PFT did not like some of the decisions that Barstool made about the show, particularly branding it Barstool instead of Pardon My Take, which made it harder for ESPN to ultimately separate the show from the somewhat odious things that Portnoy and Barstool do.

I think the risk to PMT is Portnoy eventually being unable to subvert his ego to the fact that they are now the tail wagging the Barstool dog and not the other way around. As Smiling Joe says above, I think Portnoy could eventually say or do something that damages the Pardon My Take brand.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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IMHO PMT is the only decent thing that site has, and it's in spite of and not due to Portnoy.

I had honestly thought it was the other way around, that it was PFT who was loyal to Portnoy.
 

deanx0

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As someone who listens to PMT but consumes no other Barstool content, I agree with you 100%.

I should probably caveat the earlier point about what happened with Van Talk as it being my opinion, but Big Car is a much bigger part of Barstool than PFT and the ownership stake thing has been mentioned before.
 

Patriot_Reign

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you guys don't like carrabis and the section10 show?
PMT is great, but spittin' chicklets is great for hockey, carrabis for red sox/ baseball, zero blog thirty for honest military talk
i think pft and big cat are pretty close to equal in terms of value to the company, just that big cat has been there since the beginning.

edit: and francis is hilarious, probably their funniest blogger now
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Also, while Portnoy deserves all of the ire he gets, he gets credit for letting his talent do their jobs. He isn't stupid so perhaps he understands that he still gets credit for finding and promoting people rather than being the focal point for everything.

Sprtsguy33 is the blueprint, especially with The Ringer so maybe Dave follows Simmons lead and lets his folks work while doing their own thing.
 

BoSox Rule

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you guys don't like carrabis and the section10 show?
PMT is great, but spittin' chicklets is great for hockey, carrabis for red sox/ baseball, zero blog thirty for honest military talk
i think pft and big cat are pretty close to equal in terms of value to the company, just that big cat has been there since the beginning.

edit: and francis is hilarious, probably their funniest blogger now
Carrabis is an egotistical punk that doesn’t know half as much about baseball as he thinks he does. PMT is must listen, and I don’t see them going anywhere.
 

johnmd20

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you guys don't like carrabis and the section10 show?
PMT is great, but spittin' chicklets is great for hockey, carrabis for red sox/ baseball, zero blog thirty for honest military talk
i think pft and big cat are pretty close to equal in terms of value to the company, just that big cat has been there since the beginning.

edit: and francis is hilarious, probably their funniest blogger now
Lights, Camera, Barstool is a very fun podcast for movies and random commentary about nothing. The three guys that do that Pod are solid and not Barstooly at all.
 

TFP

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Lights, Camera, Barstool is a very fun podcast for movies and random commentary about nothing. The three guys that do that Pod are solid and not Barstooly at all.
I just finished their 2.5 hour year in review/best movies episode. Other than being weird for the first 15 mins or so, it was a super enjoyable discussion that got me excited to watch movies. They take all movies seriously, but don’t take themselves seriously at all and they have a distinct point of view on stuff (that varies between them). It’s super refreshing and surprisingly addictive. I’d been meaning to post about them (and just texted @The Allented Mr Ripley recommending it) but they’ve become one of my pieces of content Barstool produces.
 

TFP

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Is Portnoy getting kicked out of the Super Bowl real or a work? Did he get kicked out for not having a ticket or acting vulgar?
It's real, and he's banned from NFL events. After he got kicked out of media day the arena banned him from the Super Bowl as well.

I thought the media day stunt was really funny, especially considering the ridiculousness of that day in general (there as a guy dressed up as a clown there). I thought this was pretty lame (but also thought the NFL reaction was over the top too). Just felt like they went to well one more time and it wasn't funny anymore. Especially if it's taking away time and effort from security having to deal with very real potential threats.
 

BoSox Rule

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It’s actually hilarious and impressive how deep in Goodell and the NFL’s heads Portnoy and Barstool live.
 

TFP

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Also - PFT was tweeting like he was at the game with fake pictures, updates from the "bathroom", etc and apparently had NFL security all over the event looking for him (confirmed by people in the stadium). Meanwhile he was just chilling watching the game at Barstool HQ with Big Cat.

To me, THAT'S way funnier.


 
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jcd0805

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Big Cat mentioned today that it was supposed to be he and pft in the commercial Arod was in but the "higher ups" put the kibosh on it-I'm sure it was probably a joke but it sure sounded real, anyone else notice that?
 

Rusty13

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Gotta give credit where credit is due. Portnoy knows how to monetize this stuff to the max.

 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Not to be a dick, but so did the inventor of TruckNutz. Doesn't make his product any good.

Now that's harsh and unfair and Barstool (well, PMT) does have some good content. I'm just leery of assuming that because Portnoy can leverage his brand (large parts of which I find distasteful) into money that means he's putting out a great product.
 

TFP

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Gotta give credit where credit is due. Portnoy knows how to monetize this stuff to the max.

I'm guessing that part should be credited to Erika Nardini. Her and her team have been instrumental in monetizing everything, expanding product offerings, bringing in sponsorships, etc. It's the one thing Barstool was always missing, and they took it completely off of Portnoy's plate. He just runs the content side of the house, the business side has its own arm and it has been an indisputable success.

I've said it a few times, but this is the stuff that fascinates me. Portnoy is the public face (and always will be) and soaks up the oxygen in the room of any conversation, but the business side is being run like a well oiled machine by people who know what the fuck the they're doing and have the respect of the company and the industry. They've so far figured out a way to excel in an area where many companies are going out of business or struggling to adjust to the new reality. I''d love to get a look at their business plan and balance sheets behind the scenes to see where they're going.
 

Rusty13

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Not to be a dick, but so did the inventor of TruckNutz. Doesn't make his product any good.

Now that's harsh and unfair and Barstool (well, PMT) does have some good content. I'm just leery of assuming that because Portnoy can leverage his brand (large parts of which I find distasteful) into money that means he's putting out a great product.
I'm guessing that part should be credited to Erika Nardini. Her and her team have been instrumental in monetizing everything, expanding product offerings, bringing in sponsorships, etc. It's the one thing Barstool was always missing, and they took it completely off of Portnoy's plate. He just runs the content side of the house, the business side has its own arm and it has been an indisputable success.

I've said it a few times, but this is the stuff that fascinates me. Portnoy is the public face (and always will be) and soaks up the oxygen in the room of any conversation, but the business side is being run like a well oiled machine by people who know what the fuck the they're doing and have the respect of the company and the industry. They've so far figured out a way to excel in an area where many companies are going out of business or struggling to adjust to the new reality. I''d love to get a look at their business plan and balance sheets behind the scenes to see where they're going.
Points well taken. Should have generalized it with "Barstool" as opposed to "Portnoy" for the credit. And I'm not endorsing (as a whole) any of their content (non-PMT or otherwise), but it's obvious that it's relatively popular.