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MLB & Barstool Sports: The Right Partnership?

By John Brewer

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 3: Umpires review a call with the assistance of an MLB.TV technician in the fourth inning during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals at Citizens Bank Park on July 3, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-2. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 3: Umpires review a call with the assistance of an MLB.TV technician in the fourth inning during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals at Citizens Bank Park on July 3, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-2. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Barstool Sports, the MLB, and the Mariners
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA – JANUARY 30: David Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, speaks during a radio broadcast prior to Super Bowl LIV on January 30, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. The San Francisco 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the 54th playing of the Super Bowl, Sunday February 2nd. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) /

Recap

There are plenty of options that the league should look into when considering how to best expand their viewership. The move to partner with Barstool Sports feels like an unnecessarily risky move for a league battling to maintain its place as one of the top three most-viewed sports in the country.

While it’s understandable that the league wants to capitalize on the popularity that betting has with the 18-34 demographic, and could potentially help expand into the highly coveted 18-49 age group, there are certainly less-risky business moves out there than a partnership with David Portnoy and Barstool Sports.

What do you think about the options? Is Barstool the way to go? What about some of the ones that were listed above? With the seemingly daily decrease in likeability that Rob Manfred has in the front office, picking the right partner for a new expansion of viewership could go a long way in repairing his relationship with the public, and continuing to build the game of baseball amongst new fans.

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