Barstool Sports’ Jake Marsh (left), Sam “Riggs” Bozoian and Kirk Minihane call the NV5 Invitational on the Korn Ferry Tour in July.getty images
On the Saturday of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, “No Laying Up” co-founder Neil Schuster and members of the popular golf podcast prepared to take their tandem to the big stage, calling the final two rounds of the PGA Championship for ESPN+.
The group of golf “fanalysts,” who are no strangers to being critical of a golf telecast, were now calling shots during the second major championship of the year and calling the golf how they envision it.
“It’s very easy for us to chuck it from the cheap seats,” Schuster said. “But at the same time, once you’re on the other side of the mic on the telecast, I think it gives us a newfound perspective.”
The telecast debut for “No Laying Up” was the latest example of networks gravitating toward podcast and internet talent to host alternative productions. As productions such as ESPN’s “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli,” commonly known as the “ManningCast,” earned accolades and greater fan response, leagues and networks are calling upon new talent in hopes of drawing larger, and younger, audiences.
With the “ManningCast,” for example, viewers average five years younger than ESPN’s traditional broadcast (48 vs. 53 years old). Viewers are also more engaged. On average, 18- to 24-year-olds watch the Mannings for 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes). The average viewing time for ESPN’s regular coverage of “Monday Night Football,” regardless of age, is 61 minutes.
“The primary reason to do it is finding another way to monetize the game,” said Eric Weinberger, president of Bleav production company and a former executive at Bally Sports, The Ringer and NFL Media. “Finding new revenue and potentially new sponsors.”
Weinberger said that for content creators, calling a game might not deliver record viewership, but the telecast can be segmented out and cut multiple ways to distribute on social media to an even larger audience and last well beyond the telecast’s scheduled run time.
In July, the PGA Tour’s Korn Ferry Tour signed a broadcast agreement with Barstool Sports to stream, call and distribute the NV5 Invitational on Barstool’s streaming platform barstool.tv.
“No Laying Up” called the PGA Championship on ESPN+.espn
Barstool CEO Erika Ayers Badan said the PGA Tour saw how Barstool’s coverage could help reach a new audience in the golf market that might not be reached in a deal with a traditional network like Golf Channel, which previously broadcast Korn Ferry Tour events.
Ayers Badan said Barstool’s coverage of golf, and the next generation of players, has become important in the equation of generating more awareness and revenue for the sport. With a reach that spans beyond just sports, but into social media and influencer spheres, talent have been able to create something that is fresh and relatable to the audience.
Take, for example, Barstool Sports’ broadcast of a Korn Ferry Tour event in July. The coverage produced the fourth-most engaging week all-time for the PGA Tour’s feeder circuit when it comes to social metrics. The Korn Ferry Tour’s social channels grew by 220% during the tournament compared to a normal week. Additionally, the Korn Ferry Tour’s tab on PGATour.com saw a 98% increase in traffic that week. Overall, 82% of the tournament audience tracked was under 35.
“That 82% is the number I’m really excited about,” Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin said. “Traditionally, our media metrics are a lot older than that, so if we can combine this young audience with our other core viewers, that provides partnership opportunities and real value for everyone.”
The Barstool-led livestream attracted Whoop as the main partner integrated into the production, as well as Fireball Whiskey.
Schuster said when “No Laying Up” was in negotiations with ESPN and Peyton Manning-owned Omaha Productions, the group wanted it to be an extension of their YouTube post-round shows, which is more conversational and laid back, similar to how fans would regularly speak to their friends.
With such productions, the regular network typically handles the majority of the technical aspects, such as the “ManningCast” being produced out of an ESPN control room in Bristol, Conn. In the case of that production, Omaha Productions is involved in much of the creative content, including guests, but ESPN is part of that process and consulted along the way.
While the industry does not have a set standard for how an alternative telecast should be produced, companies have learned to “lean into their identities” when on these stages.
Omaha Productions has taken the philosophy to its productions that they “are not replacing the main feed.” An executive at Omaha said the purpose of the telecasts is to provide a service to the fan, not providing full play-by-play like the normal telecast.
The PGA of America released a statement saying they “embrace the evolution of the product to reach new audiences,” such as the production with “No Laying Up.” “We’re always looking at ways to enhance our coverage with alternate telecasts and additional feeds.”
