Barstool Sports believes its "signature brashness is a winning formula" in a time when consumers have a "growing appetite for media discourse that pushes the envelope," according to Travis Andersen of the BOSTON GLOBE. Barstool Founder & President Dave Portnoy launched the company a decade ago, and the brand has become "wildly popular among young male sports fans" with "irreverent postings about sports and culture, scantily clad women dubbed 'Smokeshows,' and occasional missives that their detractors say demean women." Barstool CEO Erika Nardini said, "I don’t think we change who are, what we stand for, or how we do it. I’m really proud of those things." Nardini said going more mainstream could "alienate their core (young male) group." Andersen notes Barstool's site "attracts millions of visitors every month," as well as a podcast that "frequently sits atop the iTunes most-downloaded rankings." There also is "fast-selling merchandise available at their online store." Nardini said of the brand, "Barstool stands for 'everything should be funny.' Sports should be funny. Nothing is sacred. And I think it stands for (the idea) that guys can be guys." But males "aren’t the only ones tuning in." Nardini said that young women "make up half the audience for a Barstool program on Snapchat called '5th Year.'" Northwestern Univ. professor and former ESPN personality J.A. Adande said of Barstool Sports, "There is a market for it. Clearly they’ve been successful." But that "doesn’t mean he’s cheering them on." Adande: "The embrace of this ethos is troubling to me" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/8).
