Barstool and Fox Sports Team Up
On the latest episode of “Barstool Yak,” Dan “Big Cat” Katz discussed the newly announced partnership between Barstool Sports and Fox Sports. This collaboration merges two well-known entities in the sports world: Fox’s college football programming and a new studio show on FS1.
This latest endeavor marks Barstool’s second attempt to break into linear programming on a network, following the brief and troubled run of “Van Talk” back in 2017, which was canceled after just one episode on ESPN.
Katz expressed hopes that this partnership with Fox will present a more fruitful venture, unlike the previous experience. He noted, “When your Barstool Van Talk was canned back in 2017, look at it now—[Pat] McAfee is doing incredibly well.” He continued to reflect, sharing, “I think the world is evolving. People seem to be getting that entertainment is just that—entertainment.”
It’s worth noting that “Van Talk” ended abruptly, partly due to controversial comments from Katz and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy about Sam Ponder at the time. John Skipper, who was ESPN’s president then, commented that the network found it challenging to distance itself from Barstool’s brand image.
Now, Katz is optimistic about the new Fox collaboration, which he believes will allow Barstool to stick closely to what they excel at. “I think we’re going to engage with a lot of our target audience,” Katz mentioned, emphasizing how this arrangement is distinct from the ESPN deal they struck in 2017. He added, “I can tell Fox is excited about this partnership—they reached out to us, and I really believe in what this could mean.”
The partnership details reveal that Portnoy will be a feature contributor on “Big Noon Kickoff.” Additionally, other prominent Barstool personalities, including Katz, are set to make appearances. For fans of college football, “The Barstool College Football Show” will take over during select games this season, aligning with the “Big Noon Kickoff” slots.
Furthermore, a daily studio show is scheduled to air for two hours from Monday to Friday, bringing more content to audiences eager for sports entertainment.
