1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Hello, I'm Michael Lar and I'm Scott Sasnik. On this 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: weekly podcast, we explore the big money issues in the 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: world of sports and talk to some of the biggest 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: players in the industry. We would also like to welcome 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: our new affiliate one oh six seven the Fan in Washington, 6 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: d C. On this week's Shaw we have bar Stools 7 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: CEO Erica Nardini. But first let's take a look at 8 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: the top stories of the week. Joining us is Bloomberg 9 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: Business of Sports reporter Evan Noby Williams. And let's start 10 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: with the NBA franchise is all thirty? Which one is 11 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 1: at least worth a billion dollars? Take a guess, go ahead, 12 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: go ahead, which one is worth at least a billion? 13 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: The top one, I should say, all of them, every 14 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: single and other top tops on the list. We go 15 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: to New York because of the media market, and they 16 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: own the building, they own the networked up. We know, 17 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: we know that. But the news here out of Forbes 18 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: is that every single franchise, thirty out of thirty is 19 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: worth more than a billion. And if you put anything 20 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: on the market these days, would anybody be surprised if 21 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: it's sold for more than a billion. Utah small, No, 22 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,960 Speaker 1: I mean because of the national media money, these things 23 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: have great value. It's amazing how quickly this is this 24 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: has happened. When when Tom Gores and Platinum Equity bought 25 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: the Pistons in two thousand eleven for three d something million, 26 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: that seems like a normal price. And when Tony Wrestler 27 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,479 Speaker 1: bought the Hawks three years ago for seven hundred and change, 28 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: we thought that was crazy. That isn't unprepared, didn't know 29 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: that was coming. Evan Nobe Williams throwing out Platinum Equity 30 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: to the number that's something is exact number. But yeah, 31 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: it's amazing that that numbers that seemed high even a 32 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: couple of years ago are now insanely good deals really, 33 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: uh for for some of the smaller back end teams 34 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: in the NBA. Now that everyone's over that billion. The 35 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: only people not happy about this are the bankers that 36 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: are hired to sell these franchise because the expectations of 37 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: sellers these days are totally out of whack, and it's 38 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: not helped when, by the way, somebody does bid up. 39 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: Let's say the Miami Marlins to one point two billion dollars, 40 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: and we'll see how that works out for Derek Jeter 41 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: and Bruce Sherman moving forward, but the expectations are insane. 42 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: Worth noting these are Forbes valuations of the four leagues. Obviously, 43 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: valuations are going up in every league because that's the 44 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,919 Speaker 1: trend right now. The NFL is the league that has 45 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 1: the smallest amount of growth year over year of franchise valuation. 46 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: How much is it driven by the stars in the 47 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: NBA and how much is it simply because of the 48 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: product itself. It's media, It's it's driven by media. ESPN 49 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: got a three x increase on the on they had 50 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: to pay. NBA is popular globally, They're popular on Snapchat, Twitter, 51 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: That's what's driving these valuations. You mentioned football, our next topic. 52 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: The Murdoch's are defending the three billion dollar price tag 53 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: that they paid for Thursday Night Football, just like ESPN 54 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: had to justify the three x increase on the NBA. 55 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: At what point and this will be a lost leader, 56 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: This contract itself will be a money loser. But for 57 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: Fox that was woefully behind in prime time, they can promote, promote, promote. 58 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: They will bring eighteen to thirty four year old male 59 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: demo to the football screen. What can they do off 60 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: of that doesn't boost everything else. Lachlan Murdock says, yes, 61 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: they will work with the NFL to get better matchups 62 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: on Thursday Night than than it would have been given 63 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: in previous years. This year especially, it was not It 64 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: was not a great lineup. But Scott's right, this is 65 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: a company that's in a unique situation, especially given the 66 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: sale of a lot of its sports at SS to 67 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: Disney and ESPN earlier this year. Uh, this NFL product 68 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: was more important to Fox than it probably would have 69 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: been to any other TV linear network out there. CBS 70 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: do when they're offer what did NBC do when they're offer? 71 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: They bid less than they than they offered last year? 72 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: They bid less. T N T turn didn't make a bid, 73 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: ABC did not make a bid. So why was this 74 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: worth this much too Fox? Because they needed to have it. 75 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: Let's see now if they're able to execute on the 76 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: plan of having football two days during the week. I've 77 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: got to ask this. I know we're going a little 78 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: bit off topic here, but you talk about giving the 79 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: ziggy to the Indianapolis Colts. Let's hope that Josh McDaniels 80 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: is right about what he's going to do and stay 81 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: with the New England Patriots and not take the head 82 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,479 Speaker 1: coaching job. You'd have to think that he's got some 83 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: sort of certainty from the Crafts that he's going to 84 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: be the next guy. He certainly got a raise. Let's 85 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: see if he knows what he's doing on now to 86 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: the next topic, and there is a fight brewing in 87 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: Major League Baseball. According to union head Tony Clark, we 88 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: should not be having all of these free agents unsigned 89 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: at this time, especially with pictures and catchers a week away. 90 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: So I'll give you guys a fact. The free agent 91 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: market in baseball is going through a massive correction. UH. 92 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: Players are not getting the salaries they probably would have 93 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: gotten a couple of years ago for their numbers. UH, 94 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: and they're not signing at the rate that they have 95 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: in previous free agencies. The big question is why is 96 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: this happening? And we've seen Tony Clark in the players 97 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: Union UH say that it's a little suspicious that maybe 98 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: there's even teams working together to suppress the market and 99 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: delay the signings. And then we had work together to 100 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,119 Speaker 1: the sports labor uh, and then we had the league 101 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: come out. Baseball came out a couple of days ago 102 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: with a very strongly worded statement essentially saying that players 103 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: and agents have misread the market um and that they 104 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: are deliberately doing their agents are doing their players a 105 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,039 Speaker 1: disservice by telling them not to take nine figure deals 106 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: that are on the table. The concerning part though that 107 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: statement was they had said that players had been offered 108 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: nine figure deals, and then the union came back and 109 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: others agents that wait, baseball is not supposed to know 110 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:02,039 Speaker 1: what these offers are. It's gonna get uglier before it 111 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: gets better. Pictures and catchers report in a week. We're 112 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: getting close to spring training starting uh and so far 113 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: the biggest stars in the free agent market are still unsigned. 114 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: Our thanks to Bloomberg Business of Sports reporter Evan no 115 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: Wi Williams. Now, let's get to this week's interview with 116 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: Barstool's CEO Erica Nardini. By the way, we would also 117 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: like to welcome out our new affiliate one oh six 118 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,839 Speaker 1: seven The Fan in Washington, d C. Lots of colleges 119 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: in the DC area, Michael American Georgetown, g W. I'll 120 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: bet you a lot of those kids, and I can 121 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: say kids at this date of my life, probably like 122 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: Barstools Sports, and they probably like what they're doing on 123 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,479 Speaker 1: the content side. Let's see what they're doing on the 124 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: business side. And that is Erica Nardini. She is the 125 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:48,919 Speaker 1: CEO of barstool. She is in charge. Erica, thank you 126 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: very much for taking some time out at the Maker's 127 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: Conference in l A. Thank you for having me. Let 128 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,599 Speaker 1: me ask you this what attracted you to this job 129 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,799 Speaker 1: in particular? There were a lot of things that attracted 130 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: me to barstool Um. One. I was very familiar with 131 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: the brand, and mostly on the consumer side, not from 132 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: a business perspective. But I saw how guys I knew 133 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: felt about barstool. I watched how they read barstool Um. 134 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: I watched mostly how they shared it, to be honest, 135 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: and what I saw was a brand that had a 136 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: very deep personality, a huge sense of meaning with its audience. 137 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: And I think that what Dave Portnoy and Kevin Clancy 138 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: and Dan Katz and Keith Markovich captured was a zeitgeist 139 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: of a New England college age or post college guy, 140 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: and they were able to share with them, you know, 141 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: a view on the world that was completely relatable, incredibly funny, 142 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: and it kept kept their fans coming back for more. So, 143 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: so I saw the effect before joining Barstool of that. 144 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: I saw the effect that Barstool had on its fans. 145 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: I also saw the potential for what Barstool could be 146 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: as a business, especially in the way that they Dave 147 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: in particular, connected commerce, in particular T shirts with topics, headlines, themes, 148 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: and the way that he was able to motivate people 149 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: to buy T shirts. So before joining Barstool, I probably 150 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: had fifteen Barstool T shirts that that made its way 151 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: through my house constantly. And then I saw most guys 152 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: that I know with no wearing um. So when the 153 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: opportunity presented itself, and I was really grateful that it did. 154 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 1: I was familiar with the brand, I was familiar with 155 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,079 Speaker 1: the backstory and the quest that that Dave had started 156 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: in two thousand four, and I saw what it meant 157 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,079 Speaker 1: to its target audience, and I think it's incredibly you know, 158 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: I thought it was incredibly rare. Now it's fair to 159 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: say by the way that I am out of the 160 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 1: target audience. Michael Barr's so far out of the target 161 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: audience he can't even see it. Even if objects are 162 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: closer than they appear you cannot see it. I'm in 163 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: a rocking cheer students where but you have history at 164 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: a O L. You're the CMO at a O L. 165 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: And I guess then you align a vision with what 166 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 1: Tim Armstrong is doing at OATH. It's a compilation of brands. 167 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: He sees the value of brands, and this is certainly 168 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: in the sports world. This is one of the most 169 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: popular brands out there. Yeah, you know, I think consumer brands, 170 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: especially in media, are very very rare. When you typically 171 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: when you ask an executive at big media company or 172 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: media brand, you ask them about who they care about 173 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: and and who they motivate for. Typically it's advertisers. That's 174 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: been at least my experience, and what barstool always has 175 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: and really always will have is just a maniacal focus 176 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: on its audience. And that's for me, what I really 177 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 1: loved about Barcel is that it is a consumer brand. 178 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 1: When you see the engagement level that we have, when 179 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: you see the crowds that show up when we go places, 180 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: when you see the way fans react to any and 181 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,560 Speaker 1: all of our personalities, you see the power of a brand. 182 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: You saw it in Saturdays for the Boys, right. It 183 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: started as a tweet from John Feidelberg last summer um 184 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: or the summer before actually, and you saw that it 185 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: became an anthem. So you know, for me, I think 186 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: we are one of, if not the only, truly consumer 187 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: brand in media where our single biggest stakeholder is our audience. 188 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: It's not cable distribution, it's not the advertising community, it's 189 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: not distribution via social platforms. We care about our audience, 190 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,200 Speaker 1: and I think it shows in the content we create. 191 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: I think it shows in the way we create our content, 192 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: and I think it shows in the numbers and the 193 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: level of engagement with that content. You have a huge audience. 194 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: I think it's what about million views per now. Unfortunately, 195 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:08,479 Speaker 1: though for your product, it has been criticized for being sexist. 196 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: Can you take us through that and how do you 197 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: address that? You know, barstool faces a lot of criticism. UM. 198 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: I think most disruptive companies or disruptive brands or disruptive 199 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: people face criticism. So part of that for me is 200 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 1: just part of the course and always has been part 201 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: of the course. Barstool has its fair, if not an 202 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,200 Speaker 1: outright disproportionate share of haters. UM. I don't think our 203 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: content is sexist. I've talked about this a lot. I 204 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: think our content is unfiltered. I think it's authentic. We 205 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,319 Speaker 1: produce a hundred and eight pieces of content a week. 206 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 1: We're at the Super Bowl. We created five hundred blogs 207 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: in seven days, So we produce an incredible amount of content. 208 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: Not everyone likes the content, not everyone finds us funny um. 209 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: But what I see is that we have an incredibly 210 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:08,199 Speaker 1: talented I would argue the most talented bench of personalities 211 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: in the business. They are sharing their takes on the world, 212 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: they're sharing their takes on what's funny those are. They resonate, 213 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: Sometimes they don't resonate, sometimes they offend. Most times I 214 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: think they don't offend UM. But we're a controversial brand 215 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: because these guys call it like they see it. They 216 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,320 Speaker 1: don't have an agenda, they don't believe that anything is 217 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: sacred um, and they're threatening, they're disruptive. So, you know, 218 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: I think, frankly, much of the criticism comes from people 219 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: who don't actually read barstool or engage with barstool um. 220 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: And you know, I've I've said it in the past, 221 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: which is it's you know, it's easy to type cast 222 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:54,079 Speaker 1: Barstool as a sense of it's easy to typecast Barstool 223 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:56,200 Speaker 1: of sexist. I think if you actually dig in, you'll 224 00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: find that neither is true. It's really just a company 225 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: that that really cares about its audience, that feels that 226 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: it has an obligation to its fans and is you know, 227 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: doing anything for a laugh. We're talking to the CEO 228 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: of bar Stool Sports, Erica Nardini, talking about Unfiltered. You 229 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: should have been in my house when they were clanging 230 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 1: them off the uprights for the Super Bowl. That was 231 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: just like you talk about unfiltered. I'm glad we weren't 232 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:25,959 Speaker 1: on the air at the time, but Michael had eight 233 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: bucks riding. Where do you see bar Stool Sports going? 234 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: What's the future for you know? Um? Like I had mentioned, 235 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: I don't think barstool is a company with a grand plan. 236 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: We you know, we experiment constantly, We pushed the boundaries constantly. 237 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: I think you will see us in the future. You know, 238 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: We're just coming off a pretty incredible Super Bowl week. Um, 239 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: where I would argue we really challenged the notion of 240 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: y radio row. We showed the power of a brand 241 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: to mobilize an audience, and we will see us continue 242 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: to do that. I think the future holds us becoming 243 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: a bigger brand. I think the future holds us being 244 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 1: on more platforms. I think the future holds us moving 245 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: were we moved. You know, three weeks ago, we moved 246 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: into linear audio, so we moved into twelve hours of 247 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: programming on Sirius x M. You will see us do 248 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: the same thing in video. You'll see us build subscription products, 249 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: You'll see us launch new brands um But the same 250 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: basic principles that have guided Barstool to the state will 251 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 1: hold true, which is, we want to connect with our audience. 252 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: We want to find more people to be part of 253 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: that audience. We want to give them a great product. 254 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: We want to make them laugh. We want to make 255 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: them feel great about buying a pay per view from us, 256 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: or watching Rough and Rowdy, or buying T shirt or 257 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 1: a hoodie or a flag. We want them to feel 258 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: like things like Saturdays for the Boys means something. And 259 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: then what we will do is basically take those brands 260 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: or the i P that we create, or the ideas 261 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: that we form, or the companies that we buy or create, 262 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: and we will bring them to more people in more places. 263 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: This sounds a lot like my conversation with Dana White 264 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: not long ago, where it became apparent that his plan 265 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: and you say, there's no specific plan, but his goal 266 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: was for UFC to become a global lifestyle brands. That 267 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: sounds like what I'm hearing here, Like you want barstool 268 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 1: to be a lifestyle brand and you do that. What 269 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: you're thinking about opening some bars, You've got some boxing events. 270 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: What won't you touch? If anything, we we won't touch 271 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: anything that, um that doesn't feel right to our audience. 272 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: So you won't see us go into places that don't 273 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: feel authentic, which I realize is kind of a non answer, 274 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: but you know, you'll you'll see USB. You know, one 275 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: of the things I spent a lot of time thinking 276 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: about is the choices we have in front of us. 277 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: What we say yes to and what we say no 278 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: to will be the biggest arbiters of our success, because 279 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: you know, while we punch above our weight and we 280 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: are a very big brand with a massive following, we're 281 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: still a really small company. So the choices that we 282 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: make are really important because we'll pour ourselves into whatever 283 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: it is we decide to do UM and so the 284 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: things that we will choose our things which we feel 285 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: will have the best resonance with our audience, will have 286 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: the best chances of creating either a great content or 287 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: a great either great content or a great product um 288 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: for our fans, and then are able to be profitable. 289 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: We are chatting with Erica Nardini, the CEO of bar 290 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: Stool Sports, and Erica, can your breakdown you're demographic the 291 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: audience demographic for me? Male? Female? Yeah, of course. So 292 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: one of the things that's interesting about Barcelol is that 293 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: we have while we have a massive brand and a 294 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 1: very large following, that following is nuanced based on the platform. 295 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 1: So for example, when you look at our fifth Year show, 296 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: so last August we created a brand called fifth Year 297 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: and the concept of college never ends. It's predominantly an 298 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: Instagram account. Uh. It crossed a million followers a week 299 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: and a half ago. Fifth Year on Snapchat has a 300 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: very young demo, so it's probably the average age is seventeen, 301 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: and it's fifty fifty men and women. So guys follow 302 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: it and girls follow it. On Instagram, that same brand 303 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: ages up to I would say about two maybe up 304 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: to more predominantly male than female. Um. When you look 305 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: at the blog, our skew is far more male. Our 306 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: skew is much older. But I would say across all 307 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: of our platforms, whether it's on Twitter or Facebook, whether 308 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: it's on Serious or our blog um Snapchat, of course 309 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: you'll see an age range of people following Barstool. From 310 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 1: age you know, fourteen, we have like the Go pres 311 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: Go guys who are fourteen years old, or pizza people 312 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: who love pizza reviews, which are any and all ages 313 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:28,679 Speaker 1: to nice was like, um, but all the way up 314 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: to age fifty, right, So we have you know, predominantly 315 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: male is what I would say as a headline, UM 316 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: big age swath from fourteen to forty nine, increasingly female. 317 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: You know, we launch Chicks in the office with two 318 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:49,119 Speaker 1: you know, phenomenally talented women at barstool. They talk about 319 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: entertainment and celebrity headlines. They are growing a very large 320 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: female audience and social they have a large male following 321 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: on barstool. So it's hard to pin us because we 322 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: have you know, we have about eight team brands that 323 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:07,400 Speaker 1: sit under and around barstool UM, and we're really aggressive 324 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: about growing those brands and finding audiences for those brands, 325 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 1: and mostly what we care about is people who get 326 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: our sensibility. And that could be the sense of the 327 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: sensibility of Rhea and Fran for Chicks in the office, 328 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,680 Speaker 1: it could be the sensibility of a pizza review with Dave. 329 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: It could be the sensibility of you know, we launched 330 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 1: a show two weeks ago with Dave's dad, so Mike 331 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: Portnoy and his uncle cousin Murray, who are in their seventies, 332 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: So we have to seven year old speed right there, 333 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: Mike and the murder Dug. It's a great bit of programming. 334 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: But anyways, we have a show with two seventy year 335 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: olds and a thirty year old, so we're just we 336 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,919 Speaker 1: don't conform to any age demo. We don't have a 337 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: bunch of scientists or data engineers back at the ranch 338 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: being like, this is what we should go after, this 339 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: is what we should do. You know, Dave's done a 340 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 1: brilliant job of steward ng the intent and understanding what's 341 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 1: funny and what's relevant um and so as a result, 342 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: we find a lot of people from a lot of 343 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:09,919 Speaker 1: different age groups, from a lot of different geographies in 344 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: the US who follow either of us in the whole 345 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: or they follow us in part, Well, we should at 346 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: least Michael welcome the folks at the fan in Washington 347 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,359 Speaker 1: on one oh six seven f M new New for 348 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:24,840 Speaker 1: the program. And I'm sure it is a college town. 349 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,680 Speaker 1: They probably have more than a few Barstool fans there. 350 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: And we're chatting with Erica Nardini, the CEO of Barstool Sports. 351 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: And as you grow and as you take outside money, 352 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: and it's worth noting that the Churning Group is now 353 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 1: the controlling stakeholder of the company, do you have to 354 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,440 Speaker 1: get a bit more conservative, Erica? Are there more layers 355 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: of filtering what can and cannot be put out there? No? Um, 356 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,440 Speaker 1: the Charning Group is a single moss phenomenal partner for 357 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: this company. The Peter Churning, Jesse Jacobs, my current have 358 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: been incredible advocates for Dave and for myself and then 359 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: most importantly for the company and the brand at large. 360 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: We were not going to build our business by anybody 361 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: else's rules, right, So when I think about Barstool, Dave 362 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: created a reality show in two thousand four I helped 363 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: Dave create a company in two thousand sixteen. So we 364 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: are building a company right now in that will be 365 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: what a company looks like, built in the social age, 366 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: with the benefit of having a fifteen year audience, a 367 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 1: fifteen year bench of content, a fifteen year sense of 368 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: loyalty and affinity. So, um, barstool is what Barstool is. 369 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,400 Speaker 1: I think you will see us build into this company more. 370 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,920 Speaker 1: You'll see us build subscription products. You'll see us acquire 371 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: brands and other companies. Rough and Rowdy is a great 372 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 1: example of that. What are you going to ask folks 373 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,399 Speaker 1: to pay for if it's going to be a subscription product? 374 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: What am I going to get that I don't already get? 375 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: You will get. You will get content that you will 376 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 1: not pay for, content that exists today. You will get 377 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:16,479 Speaker 1: new content from Barstool which is exclusive to subscription. So 378 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 1: and that will will unveil that in the coming months. 379 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,479 Speaker 1: Um our fans pay for Rough and Rowdy and fans 380 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,120 Speaker 1: of Rough and Rowdy by Rough and Rowdy. So one 381 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 1: of the things I'm very interested in. I believe in 382 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: the Rough and Rowdy brand because it's electric pay per 383 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 1: view content, it's amateur boxing, it originated in West Virginia, 384 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: it's backyard brawls. And what we believe is that young 385 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: guys or fans of boxing, or just college kids on 386 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,959 Speaker 1: a Friday night will want to watch for you know, 387 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: I would say a very affordable price four hours of 388 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,679 Speaker 1: incredible content that's live from In this case, we have 389 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: a fight on the six teams from Morgantown, West Virginia. 390 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: So we will build a revenue act underneath Barstool and 391 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: underneath the brands that we create or we acquire that 392 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,120 Speaker 1: are reflective of what the most valuable revenue stack looks 393 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: like today. So we'll have commerce, we will have subscriptions, 394 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,639 Speaker 1: we will have pay per view, we will do great 395 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: work for our ad partners, we will do events. So 396 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: we're building a revenue stack that is in and of 397 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: itself diverse. So people who want to invest in a 398 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: more exclusive experience, a deeper experience and membership experience can 399 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,919 Speaker 1: do that. People who want to buy a pay per 400 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: view fight on Friday night can do that. People who 401 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: want to watch barstools for free because that's what they've 402 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: always done, we'll be able to do that. Will you 403 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: do brick and mortar as well? Potentially? Yeah. Talking to 404 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 1: the CEO of Barstool Sports, Erica Nardini, you were, as 405 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 1: Scott mentioned earlier, the former Chief marketing officer of A 406 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:56,640 Speaker 1: O L. Can you talk about that experience of how 407 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: that has brought over to being the CEO of this 408 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: product for Barstool Sports. You know, I had a great 409 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: experience at all A Well. You know, when I got there, Um, 410 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: we were making a very strong pivot into video. Um. 411 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: We had acquired just prior to me getting there, a 412 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: company called sisman Um, which was a video syndication platform 413 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,600 Speaker 1: led by Ron Harnevo. We bought a company called adapt 414 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:29,199 Speaker 1: tv um, which was a programmatic video platform, and we 415 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: were making a very large push into becoming a video 416 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,719 Speaker 1: first company, which I really loved that experience. Um. The 417 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,159 Speaker 1: other piece that was really great about, you know and 418 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: fascinating about working with A Well was you know, one 419 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: A Well was making a pivot from you know, obviously 420 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 1: declining subscription businesses. Tim had acquired thirty two blogs over 421 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,679 Speaker 1: the course of the past you know, five years or 422 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:56,480 Speaker 1: five or six years by the time I got there, 423 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: and we were working to consolidate what the go to 424 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: market looked like. So what the go to market looked 425 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 1: like for consumers. So how would you come into in 426 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: this case, maker's right, So how would you come into makers. 427 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,359 Speaker 1: What other content could you find from a O L 428 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: at the time that was related to maker's content, or 429 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: to tech Crunch content or to hop post content. Um. 430 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: And So you know what a L taught me was, 431 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: you know, and gave me the opportunity to do, was 432 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: to look over a very large portfolio, to reshape and 433 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,879 Speaker 1: form that portfolio, to optimize how we went to market 434 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: for from a consumer point of view and from a 435 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: B two B point of view. Uh. And then to 436 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: make the pivot with people like Ron to a video 437 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: first company UM. And that was exciting. So you know, 438 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: the things that I've taken with me from that are, 439 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: you know, the ability to scale, the importance of video, 440 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: the understanding of a go to market strategy, the under 441 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:01,240 Speaker 1: the importance of cohesion across a set of assets or 442 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 1: brands or products, um. And the ability to drive all 443 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: of those things simultaneously at scale. Okay, Like when you're 444 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:12,359 Speaker 1: talking about these college kids staying at home on Friday 445 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: night to watch a boxing event or whatever, I know 446 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 1: what they're not watching. They're not watching Sports Center. And 447 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: we've gone twenty five minutes and we haven't spoken about 448 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,359 Speaker 1: ESPN yet and Disney's numbers came out, subscriber losses again, 449 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:30,399 Speaker 1: advertising dollars down. Do the kids today and the younger 450 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 1: demo seems to be your wheelhouse how much they care 451 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: about live sports versus what used to be shoulder programming, 452 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 1: which now seems to be principal program I have a 453 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: strong point of view on it. And my point of 454 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: view is that all that matters this frame of reference. 455 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: And that is why I am such a big believer 456 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: in barstool is because we have a very strong frame 457 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 1: of reference and what we have to say is as 458 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,920 Speaker 1: compelling as what we are talking about. That's the that's 459 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: the gift that and the magic of Barstool that that 460 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,400 Speaker 1: Dave has driven from day one. Um, do we see 461 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: advantage barstool in a world where nobody watches just one screen? 462 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: So if I've got the iPad open or the phone 463 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 1: and the TV, if there's a TV, perhaps the game 464 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: isn't the first screen. Perhaps everything I'm doing with my 465 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: pals is first screen with game or maybe sports betting 466 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: in the background. Yeah, you know, everything is changing, and 467 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 1: you know Twitter disrupted Sports Center in my opinion, which 468 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,119 Speaker 1: is you don't need to wait for you don't need 469 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 1: to wait till eleven till eleven thirty to understand what 470 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: happened today in sports. Um, people love Scott Dampel. I'm 471 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,120 Speaker 1: a huge fan of Scott Dampel. So people will tune 472 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 1: into SVP because they love him and he has something 473 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 1: to say. But the world has changed, you know, I 474 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 1: think people will if you look at the Super Bowl, 475 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: and you know, people will always have affinity towards live sports. 476 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: It's highly perishable, it's hugely engageing, it carries great meaning. Um, 477 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: it's also pretty dawn expensive. It's super expensive. And so 478 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 1: when you look at the cost structure of traditional media 479 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: companies where all of the investment is going towards rights, 480 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: and then you have the quandary of what do you 481 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: put around that? And you know, I don't I sit 482 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,120 Speaker 1: in a company that will never have live sports rights 483 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: or that I think is highly highly unlikely. So you know, 484 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: advantage Barstool is how do we create the best content 485 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 1: that is relevant or surrounding that game, that topic, that event. 486 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: And when you look at rough and Rowdy, I'm getting 487 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: into the live event business of my own right and 488 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 1: creating value in a live event experience that is uniquely 489 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: barstool that can only come from Barstool. Um, and we 490 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: will do the same things that we will do. Both 491 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: pieces will produce a live event, we will create shoulder 492 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: programming a round that event. We will do commentary in 493 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: that event. What other brand in sports do you admire? Um, 494 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: that's a great question. Do you know I admire Men 495 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: and Blazers that. Yeah, that does have that, that caught 496 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: on that that has a talked about loyal followings. Yes, yea, 497 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:22,680 Speaker 1: I love you know, I think Michael Davies has you know, 498 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: has been a great partner to barstool. He is a 499 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: phenomenal talent in his own right, and they have they 500 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: they have a funny perch around you know, soccer or football. Um, 501 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: so I you know, I like what they're doing. I 502 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:42,160 Speaker 1: think NBC has has taken has done a great job 503 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: of acquiring pro football talk and and launching Men and Blazers. 504 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: So it's you know, you're seeing You're seeing big network 505 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 1: companies find affinity brands with and and and placing them 506 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: within their portfolio. Dan Patrick is a great example. Um, 507 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: we don't spend I don't spend a whole lot of 508 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: time looking to sports companies as the you know, as 509 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: a roadmap of of where we will go. Right, we 510 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 1: look a lot to comedy brands. I look at Vice, 511 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 1: I look at Saturday Night Live. So you know, we're 512 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,240 Speaker 1: a unique beast in that we are a company that 513 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: is born of the Internet and our focus is much 514 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: more on the the Internet. You know. Sports brand that 515 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: I think is very interesting is Overtime UM and the 516 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: way that they have found and used Instagram to capture 517 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: highlights from college basketball over time is a very interesting brand. 518 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: It's an it's a fast, fast, fast growing social accountant, 519 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 1: and they're building a data platform around it, which which 520 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 1: I think is unrivaled. So that's a brand I look 521 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: at to say to say, that's a disruptive, futuristic brand 522 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: around high school basketball. We're talking with the CEO of 523 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: Barstool Sports, Erica Nardini. By the way, I understand that 524 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: you guys had a big part in the super Bowl 525 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,200 Speaker 1: that just passed, and let's talk about that right quick. Yeah, 526 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: so we had a huge super Bowl week. Um we 527 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: did you know? We we had ten hours of daily 528 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: radio at Cowboy Jack's, which is a fantastic spot we 529 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: posted up there during the super Bowl week. We drove 530 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: their biggest bar day in history, just by virtue of 531 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: the crowds that we brought. We delivered over five blogs, 532 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: we grew, you know, over fifty app downloads in a week. 533 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: We drove over twenty five million video views just in 534 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 1: one week alone, and we grew faster in social during 535 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: that one week than Bleacher in ESTN combined. So it 536 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: was a big week for us, and and mostly I 537 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: think it was a big week because we covered the 538 00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: Super Bowl differently than than any traditional company would, And 539 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 1: the volume of content and the way that we were 540 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: on site and accessible to our audiences during a heightened 541 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 1: sports period is really emblematic of the way Barstool makes content, 542 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,959 Speaker 1: how we distribute content, and how we engage our audiences 543 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: in that content. Erica Nardini, CEO of bar Stool Sports, 544 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 1: put up with Scott and old Man bar. We appreciate 545 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 1: your time. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. 546 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: Takeaways from the interview Erica. By the way, obviously she 547 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,480 Speaker 1: is very good at what she does, and she has 548 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,959 Speaker 1: an interesting product, and we talked about the subject that 549 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: some view it as sexist, But my goodness, you have 550 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 1: millions of people downloading this and and following barstool. Well, yeah, 551 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: my takeaway is there's just no apologies. This is what 552 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:52,440 Speaker 1: we are. We are authentic to our customers. They are 553 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: loyal to us, and because they are loyal, we can 554 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 1: monetize in many different ways. This is not contents, not 555 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:04,000 Speaker 1: just podcast, not just articles. This is going to be 556 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: perhaps brick and mortar stores like Apple. They found guys 557 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 1: that come into their store, found people to come in 558 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: and buy and use. This is going to be or 559 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 1: They're trying to be a global lifestyle brand and you 560 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: and I know plenty of folks who would like to 561 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 1: consume whatever it is they're selling. It feels better to 562 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: be number one than number five. I'll wear a number 563 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: because of Mike. We have a chance to go for 564 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 1: three in a row numbers in a good time. When 565 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 1: I first started wearing the number, I would just happy 566 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,680 Speaker 1: in Floomberg Business of sports, the number of the week. 567 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: Time now for the number of the week, and I'm 568 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: warding it this way. So it's got to be Olympics related. 569 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:51,320 Speaker 1: We're going out into the Olympic horizon. Uh, Salt Lake City. 570 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: There you go. Okay, not bad? Not bad? They put 571 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: in there. They they're gonna put in their bid for 572 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: the Olympics. Yes, I know they had problems in the 573 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: two thousand two ones, but solved by Mitt Romney, solved 574 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,040 Speaker 1: by Mitt Romney and quite and to be honest, the 575 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 1: games itself they were good. They were a good host. 576 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:14,400 Speaker 1: Now there are other people probably going to get involved 577 00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:16,520 Speaker 1: in this. Reno will probably get involved in this. But 578 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,200 Speaker 1: what are the odds that Salt Lake City can win 579 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 1: the Olympics. They've done it before, they know how to 580 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,239 Speaker 1: do it. And most importantly, as we have discussed ad 581 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:27,959 Speaker 1: nauseum on this show with folks like Casey Wasserman, much 582 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:32,839 Speaker 1: of the infrastructure is there. There is no longer appetite, 583 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,399 Speaker 1: taxpayer appetite said, what's this going to cost us? We'd 584 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 1: like to have the Olympics. Sure, but if it's going 585 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: to cost us billions of dollars to make a facility, 586 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,040 Speaker 1: to make a ski jump, to make an athletes village, 587 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 1: then we're not interested anymore. That's not the case in 588 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 1: Salt Lake City. So you'd have to say they have 589 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 1: as good as shot at anybody as winning a games. 590 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,000 Speaker 1: And of course everybody is going to be watching what 591 00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,520 Speaker 1: happens in South Korea and how well they are a 592 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:03,360 Speaker 1: success full in their Olympics, and when it's all said 593 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: and done, what's going to happen to their city? And 594 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:08,759 Speaker 1: like you just said, it's like, are they going to 595 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: be stuck with a white elephant several years down there? 596 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:12,640 Speaker 1: You know how they they've done away with these now 597 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,839 Speaker 1: is that there is no elephant. They just they make 598 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,480 Speaker 1: stadiums that are designed to just get taken down. They 599 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,840 Speaker 1: cost less and they just go away, So no problem 600 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 1: of a white elephant if the elephant is removed. You've 601 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,439 Speaker 1: been listening to Bloomberg Business of Sports. We are here 602 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,360 Speaker 1: each and every week at the same time, exploring the 603 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,640 Speaker 1: world of money and sports at Michael barn and I'm 604 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,960 Speaker 1: Scott Sashnik. Thanks for joining us, and please tune in 605 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:37,320 Speaker 1: next week when we speak with the biggest and brightest 606 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,560 Speaker 1: in the sports business industry. You're listening to Bloomberg Business 607 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 1: of Sports on Bloomberg Radio round the world and online 608 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,400 Speaker 1: as an Apple podcast on iTunes.