Variety: Fox Sports Inks Broad Pact With Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy to Become Regular On-Air Contributor

Story from Variety:

Fox Sports is officially in business with Barstool Sports, which has built a solid fanbase for its brash brand of commentary, and company founder Dave Portnoy.

Fox Sports on Thursday announced a “wide-ranging collaboration” with Barstool. As part of the deal, Portnoy will become a regular contributor to Fox Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff” college football gameday shows on Saturdays starting this fall. “Big Noon Kickoff” also will feature appearances from a variety of Barstool personalities including Dan “Big Cat” Katz.

Additionally, “Barstool College Football Show,” produced by Barstool Sports, will join “Big Noon Kickoff” on-location for select games throughout the college football season and will feature appearances from “BNK” talent. “Barstool College Football Show” is set to air across Barstool-owned channels from 9-9:45 a.m. ET Saturdays as well as across Fox platforms including Tubi, the Fox Sports app and foxsports.com.

Portnoy founded Barstool in 2002. In 2016 he sold majority control of the company to Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group before casino and online gambling company Penn Entertainment acquired Barstool. Just months after Penn Entertainment bought 100% control of Barstool in 2023, Portnoy bought it back from Penn for $1. That came as Penn entered into a major deal with ESPN to rebrand its online sports-betting business from Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN Bet.

“We’re excited to welcome Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports to the Fox Sports family. Dave has built a one-of-a-kind brand that connects with a new generation of sports fans — authentic, bold, and original,” said Eric Shanks, CEO and executive producer of Fox Sports. “Their unique voice and loyal fanbase makes them a natural fit for our evolving multiplatform content strategy.”

Portnoy commented: “Everybody at Barstool is super excited to partner with the Fox Sports family. In our two-decade history, we’ve never had the chance to work with so much talent and resources. We can’t wait to collab and bring our voice to Fox Sports’ airwaves. See ya soon in Columbus.”

Ahead of the 2025-26 college hoops season, Barstool Sports is also set to contribute to Fox Sports’ college basketball coverage, including the College Basketball Crown, a postseason tournament launched by the network last year, coming off its debut in April 2025.

In addition, as part of the pact, Barstool will produce and deliver a live two-hour program set to air Monday-Friday on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), which will feature Barstool personalities and Fox Sports talent guest appearances. That will create “opportunity for both brands to grow their reach, deepen engagement and deliver even more to viewers,” according to Fox Sports. Further details, including launch date and window, are TBA.

UTA repped Barstool Sports and Portnoy in the Fox Sports deal.