Can Barstool Sports Save Satellite Radio?

When the news hit that Barstool Sports had signed on to do a daily radio show on SiriusXM, it immediately made me question why it took so long. Despite SiriusXM’s constant denial, they are not in a good place. What was originally billed as the death nail to terrestrial radio has slowly become nothing more than a snazzy ad-on to a new car purchase.

SiriusXM’s problem is that, outside of Howard Stern (and to a much lesser extent what is left of the Opie & Anthony Show), they don’t have any recognizable talent that brings any kind of sizable audience. Sure, they have Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, but he might as well mail in his show from a cushy Westchester tennis club.

After taking a quick scan of SiriusXM’s on air talent, it is clear that the cupboard is pretty bare (unless you consider former MTV VJ Sway a big draw). Interestingly, their archaic website barely touts Stern’s presence. After a little digging, I was reminded that they gave Bleacher Report an entire channel. Let me repeat that – they gave BLEACHER REPORT an entire channel and they only gave Barstool Radio a daily two-hour show on SiriusXM Rush (a channel that focuses on MMA). That is literally the most tone-deaf move Scott Greenstein (Chief Content Officer) could make. While Bleacher Report is known for having faceless robotic writers whose job could be done by an iPad app,  Barstool is built on large personalities that digital audiences flock to and engage with. As I have alluded to in the past, Portnoy has a little bit – maybe a lot – of Howard Stern in him. The guy either has an eye for talent or is a giant magnet for it. Barstool also has impressively demonstrated the ability to appeal to audiences in a number of ways: Podcasts, Apparel, Video, Blog Content.

As an example, take a look at Barstool intern “Glenny Balls” Twitter followers:

Compare that to SiriusXM Rush’s Covino & Rich – a duo that has been a major part of SiriusXM programming for 10+ years:

Let that set in for a second. To steal a prophetic phrase from Portnoy himself: Numbers never lie. An intern hired in September by Barstool has more Twitter followers than a radio show that is probably in the top five of SiriusXM’s talent roster. Moreover, the channel that they are going to only has 6K Twitter followers and a defunct Facebook Page.

So what is Barstool’s play here? Truth be told, Barstool may have turned down taking over an entire channel. But I do question the lack of direction on SiriusXM’s part to put them on an MMA Branded channel. Doing a quick scan of the SiriusXM Rush social properties, there is not even a mention of the impending audience that is about to flood their feeds. Savvy.

From all indications, the SiriusXM alliance has new Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini’s fingerprints all over it. I do think it is a great move for the Barstool brand as they attempt to make it less of an East Coast thing. While radio can be seen as a medium from long ago, it can be a natural progression to get people hooked on a daily radio show then drive them to the multiple Barstool on-demand mobile offerings like KFC Radio & Pardon My Take. That mobile component is completely measurable – and that is where the paper can be made by advertisers like Bacardi Oakheart, Natty Light and the latest mattress advertiser of the month.

Make no mistake  (and the point of this entire post) – SiriusXM needs Barstool Sports more than Barstool needs SiriusXM. I am sure that Nardini knows that. Howard Stern is a purple unicorn and it is no revelation that his audience is aging. Though SiriusXM is dodgy about sharing their actual subscription numbers, I expect that they are going to take an enormous hit when Howard decides to hang it up in 2020. Also in play is that millennials have ZERO idea who Howard Stern is – so they are not bringing any new subscribers. While that makes me sad, it is a stark reminder that I am getting old and everything has a shelf life. We are living in the age of WiFi enabled everything, YouTube, Podcasting, Spotify & Pandora. Satellite Radio is no longer new technology and has morphed into a costly alternative to radio. Millennials do not pay for content. That is why it is critical for them to reinvent their talent roster that people will be willing to pay for. Good luck with that.

My guess is that once SiriusXM sees the social engagement and caller metrics that the daily Barstool Sports show creates, it will push hard for a larger scale partnership. Again – if that has not already been proposed and smartly rebuffed by Nardini and Portnoy.

Another thing that I think Portnoy and his crew should rebuff is SiriusXM’s attempts to WNNNNNNBC Barstool. A few times Portnoy has alluded to SiriusXM execs providing radio tips for the show. I am sure that Portnoy already knows this, but the rawness of Barstool is authentic, funny and already wildly successful on its own. Meanwhile, SiriusXM would be wise to let the Barstool team feel the process out and not treat them like they are their most recent Sporty McKenzie hire from an ESPN affiliate in Spokane. Time will tell where this marriage will go, but in the end I am just glad that I may have something to listen to in my car before the free six-month subscription runs out.