A couple of things. Barstool is very different than deadspin and Bleacher Report in that they have insane brand loyalty, and that their content strategy is based around the personalities themselves, not the substance of what they are covering. A lot of their readers have been with them since like 2011 (and even earlier for people in Boston),. As part of that, their core personalities have been interacting with their users on twitter and letting them into their personal lives for close to a decade, which allows them to feel more like friends and relatable common men (regardless of whether you agree), as opposed to deadspin, which is run by SJWs and people who have no appeal whatsoever to the typical non-pussy male 18-34. In that sense, Barstool has become more about the personalities' take on the content (usually news/sports pop culture stories), than the content itself, and the content experience more like a reality show than a sports content distributor. As such, to many readers, the Barstool personalities feel a lot more relatable and "common-man-esque." Because of the brand loyalty barstool has built (which will be undoubtedly be put to the test by the roll-out of Barstool Gold), their sustainability is far stronger than deadspin. While deadspin might not piss as many people off, they don't have even close to the brand loyalty that barstool has, which is what matters when comes to being able to monetize and grow your brand. In today's day and age where people have more choices than ever in content options, mild, "PC," mass approval entities (like deadspin) not nearly as profitable as polarizing entities with hardcore, loyal fanbases. Quite simply, many males 18-34 who disdain SJWs are more likely to enjoy barstool and find their guys to be relatable than what can be said for deadspin.
Sure, there are 18-34 male SJWs out there, but there aren't as many, and even of that group, they don't possess the same level of brand loyalty for deadspin that comes close to what barstool has cultivated. While it is true that there there are plenty are of 18-34 SJWs out there, a very very small minority of them are hardcore sports content consumers, which is not the case for non-SJW "common man" 18-34 males, which is who Barstool cultivates. Barstool is not expecting to convert their entire user base to Barstool Gold; they are hoping to convert a portion of their core base, which is probably realistic. There is no comparable "core base" for deadspin in terms of size and consistent site interaction (as evidenced by average numbers comments per article and twitter replies per site tweet.
Also Bleacher Report is not really in the same content space as barstool or deadspin, as they've sought to become a neutral, journalistic entity. They're moreso competing against likes of ESPN.com, and the Athletic. A buddy of mine (also 24), was spot on in my opinion by saying that The Athletic is "Bleacher Report for adults."
Kirkwood wrote:
Ogie Oglethorpe wrote:
Boilermaker Rick wrote:
IMU wrote:
Barstoolsports.com web traffic has tanked 32% over the last two years. They're declining, if anything.
The only other sports blogging site I can find that also had reduced traffic in that time period is deadspin. Bleacher Report, Fansided and others have increased traffic.
Barstool is in effect a startup company and is treated like one. They seem to be desperately trying to find a new way to grow which is normally a bad sign for the strength of the core business. They are trying to become a boxing and pay-per-view company, and by boxing and pay-per-view company, it's more like "Amateur boxing tournaments streaming on a website for cheap so basically bumfights with people with houses(probably)".
That's not to say they are failing. They will always have a niche, but they are dangerously close to having their talent poached by the bigger guys and they know it.
Their podcasts continuously top the charts, they sell a lot of merchandise, and brands continue to partner with them thanks to their audience being the prime market for advertisers.
The company is worth over $100 million dollars and is turning a profit, which is quite rare in digital media. Heck, their Barstool Gold already reached its year 1 subscription target within 3 days of launch. They are doing fine. You cannot say the same for traditional media.
I know this message board skews a little older than their target audience, but they own the 21-35 male demographic at a time where that demo is very tough to reach. That is the key to Barstool's success.
valuation is in the eye of the beholder (investor)