With students using social media more than ever, there are some social accounts that stand out from the rest. One of these is Barstool Sports. Barstool Sports is more than a funny Instagram account. It is a podcasting juggernaut and video content producer that is one of the most unique sources of entertainment today.   

For those that have somehow avoided any content from Barstool, first, you are lying, and second, let me give you a brief history. Barstool was founded in 2003 by Dave Portnoy aka El Pres. It was at first a print publication in the Boston area which consisted of gambling content and fantasy sports, but eventually expanded into other avenues. It officially launched a website in 2007 and has never looked back. In 2016 a majority stake of Barstool was bought by The Chernin Group for $15 million. With this purchase the company moved to New York City and hired Erika Nardini as CEO. In January 2020 it was announced that Penn National Gaming bought 36% of the company for $136 million which gave the company a valuation of $450 million. This purchase lead to the release of the Barstool Sportsbook app which was released in September 2020 and took $11 million dollars in sports bets in its first week. It is currently only available to be used for those physically in Pennsylvania and Michigan, but is going to be expanded in the future     

Barstool is not just one account that posts funny videos of people being idiots or sports moments. Barstool produces numerous podcasts, with their most popular ones being Pardon My Take, KFC Radio, Call Her Daddy, and Spittin Chiclets. Barstool also has a Sirius XM Station 85. 

Not only is Barstool influential in the podcasting realm, but their presence on Youtube is just as large. They are affiliated with over 20 channels with a combined subscriber count in the millions. They have some videos from the early days of the online website with my favorite being “Who Broke the AC” and a series called The Barstool Bro Show were some of the founding members of Barstool do some stupid stuff such as going to a Renaissance Fair and a football combine day. Modern day content consists of podcast highlights and a behind the scenes show called Stool Scenes.

With this massive success, there have been some major business deals involving Barstool. One of Barstool’s podcasts, Spittin Chiclets, has its own vodka called the Pink Whitney from New Amsterdam Vodka which has been a major success. They have also made partnerships with brands like Philips,  Dunkin Donuts, Truly Hard Seltzer, and Bud Light. It was just announced that the golf podcast Fore Play has entered a partnership with Taylormade Golf. 

During COVID-19 Barstool stepped up the content game. Dave Portnoy started his  daily stock market trading live on twitter, and unboxings of packages that got delivered to his apartment after his address leaked. Dan “Big Cat” Katz NCAA Football 14 Coaching Carousel as Coach Gus Duggerton that was live streamed on Twitch was nothing short of electric. The quarantine time period for Barstool cannot be talked about without mentioning the Call Her Daddy podcast drama. That is a topic that would take too long to explain, so I will just say screw Peter Nelson and his Lord Farquad looking mug. 

The pandemic also marked the establishment of the Barstool Fund which is a charity established by Dave Portnoy to help keep small businesses afloat through the COVID shutdowns. At the current moment of writing this, the fund has raised over $20 million and has supported over 100 small businesses.    

Barstool is simply unlike any other media company out there today. It has taken people every day and made them stars in the podcasting and social media game. It created a product that appeals to an audience that mainstream media and journalism has failed to appeal to, and shows that Barstool is the future.