Barstool Sports, the popular and controversial sports media and betting company, is in advanced talks with Major League baseball on a deal to livestream games starting next season, PvNew /confirm/ied.
The talks were first reported by the New York Post. Sources familiar with the discussions emphasized that multiple parties have expressed interest in nabbing the rights to the two-game weekday MLB rights package beginning with the 2022 season, previously carried on ESPN.
An MLB rep declined to comment. On Twitter, Barstool president Dave “El Presidente” Portnoy responded to the report by writing, “No comment,” adding: “Also / Momma….there goes that man again.”
Along with Barstool, YouTube is believed to be among those bidding for the MLB rights. The Google-owned video giant has a deal with Major League baseball to stream 21 games for free worldwide during the 2021 regular season, the third consecutive year YouTube has carried the league’s live baseball games.
Founded in 2003 as a sports blog, Barstool has diversified its business over the last several years, expanding into podcasts, merchandise and wagering with Barstool Bets, its site for sports betting and gambling entertainment.
Last month, Barstool Sports announced a deal to become the title sponsor and broadcast partner of college football’s Arizona Bowl, after airing on CBS the last several years. “We really believe that what we can do is take the best of traditional broadcast and take the best of traditional sponsorship and do both in a brand-new way,” Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini said in an interview with Sportico. “We think we’ll bring new fans. We know we will bring a level of energy, and we’ll cover the game in a way that is completely unique, and uniquely Barstool.”
In January 2020, casino operator Penn National Gaming paid $163 million for a 36% stake in Barstool Sports, with previous owner theChernin Groupleft with the same percentage stake. Portnoy hadsold majority control of Barstool to Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group in 2016.
Barstool has amassed a sizable fanbase with its brash brand of sports commentary, while critics have targeted the site over past sexist and racist content.
For example, ESPN in 2017 canceled “Barstool Van Talk,” a late-night comedy/interview show on ESPN2, after just a single episode aired. That came after ESPN correspondent Sam Ponder called out sexist attacks against her by Portnoy and other Barstool staffers. In 2020, Portnoy posted a defiant video hitting back at “cancel cops” who resurfaced clips of him using racist language including the N-word in past videos, complaining that adversaries were taking video from the “comedy site” out of context.
