Barstool Sports is in talks for the rights to stream this season’s midweek Major League Baseball games.
According to a report from the New York Post, the MLB is in the midst of “significant negotiations” with the contentious digital media company. Sources told the Post it’s “50-50” on whether a deal will actually go through.
Per the report, Barstool x MLB content could potentially focus on sports gambling. That makes sense, considering Barstool’s self-dubbed “presidente,” Dave Portnoy, recently told Fox News’ Varney & Co. that he is “trying to build the most forward-thinking sports gambling company.”
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Penn National Gaming, a casino and racetrack company, bought 36% of Barstool in January 2020 for $163 million.
The MLB has sold streaming rights for midweek games before: it and YouTube have a longstanding relationship that has seen the platform snag exclusive streaming rights to steadily increasing numbers of non-weekend games over the past several years, including for this season.
Per the Post, the MLB has national TV deals with Fox, Turner, and ESPN for all of this season’s games except those aired on Mondays and Wednesdays. These are the games for which it may pact with Barstool.
If the duo do sign a deal, it won’t be Barstool’s first hookup with a league. Earlier this month, it announced a multiyear deal with college football’s Arizona Bowl that names Barstool the annual postseason game’s title sponsor and exclusive broadcasting partner. Barstool plans to stream the game on its website and app.
The Post also reports that Barstool expects to sign deals for live rights to other sports in the near future.
