After three years, it’s finally time to toast the done deal for Penn Entertainment. The operator now has total ownership of Barstool Sports, a 20 year-old entertainment platform and sportsbook operator.
Penn, which bought its initial stake in February, 2020, announced completion of the $388 million purchase on February 17, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
And now for some happy comments from executives.
“Barstool is a proven, powerful media brand with an authentic voice and vast, loyal audience that provides us with a strong top of funnel for new customer acquisition and organic cross-selling opportunities across our growing interactive division,” said Penn CEO and President Jay Snowden in a statement.
Barstool helps create a massive digital footprint and ecosystem that will serve to propel Barstool Sportsbook, along with its media and gaming business.
“Barstool Sportsbook will benefit from the upcoming migration to our proprietary technology stack, a move that will significantly enhance the overall product offering and deliver meaningful upside,” Snowden said.
Barstool was the linchpin of Penn’s selection for the Massachusetts sports betting market.
“We have high expectations for sports betting in Massachusetts for obvious reasons,” Snowden said during an investors’ call. “Barstool was founded there and has a huge following.”
Barstool Sports creates content distributed on podcasts, video, live events, pay-per-view and subscription.
Since Penn’s first investment in Barstool, the company has:
- Grown its audience 194 percent and recorded total podcast downloads of 1.6 billion
- Delivered over 875,000 videos across social media channels totaling over 128 billion video views;
- Increased ad sales by 160 percent; and
- Sold over 5 million units, including apparel, licensed products and accessories.
“Barstool Sports is bigger than ever and has become more than I ever dreamed of,” said founder David Portnoy. “I’m very thankful to the Barstool team and Stoolies who have been along for the ride. I’m looking forward to this next chapter with Penn.”
Said Barstool Sports CEO Erika Ayers. “Our focus has always been to create relevant and entertaining content for our fans and to deliver strong results for our partners.”
Penn was granted a license to operate the Barstool Sportsbook platform in Massachusetts in January. It operates a brick-and-mortar Barstool Sportsbook at the Plainridge Casino that was heavily scrutinized by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission before the license was approved.
