In the recent past, widespread changes have been observed within the media as an industry, mainly due to the digital revolution. Barstool Sports, a media and American blog website and digital media company specializing in sports and pop culture has not been spared these challenges. Owing to several rounds of Barstool layoffs starting in 2020, the corporation has been caught in the wave of developments affecting the whole industry. This article investigates the historical context of Barstool layoffs, the populations on the receiving end, and some of the reasons behind these events in the industry.
Barstool Sports, the company established by entrepreneur Dave Portnoy in 2003, has quickly escalated into a cultural icon mostly for the youth. It is characterized by ridiculous content covered through podcasts, videos, & merchandise.
A round of Barstool layoffs began in 2020 when Penn National Gaming bought a major stake in the firm. Barstool wanted to reorganize its entire operation structure due to newer shareholder preferences. Many employees were laid off, mostly editors and content creators. Although the precise number of employees impacted has not been made public, estimations indicate that between 2020 and 2022, Barstool layoffs let off hundreds of employees.
In 2023, Barstool laid off employees once more as a part of larger reorganization initiatives that followed its acquisition and the effects of falling ad income. Higher-profile content creators, including stars of flagship series, were laid off this time. The organization justified these reductions by pointing to operational effectiveness and adjusting to changing business priorities.
The Barstool layoffs may as well be understood in the context of the further established media companies’ retrenchment trends after the outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic caused disturbances in conventional ways of generating revenue for media companies. There was a paradigm shift as audience usage shifted to digital modes, and thus, most companies had to change strategies, including letting go of some critical staff groups.
The Pew Research Center conducted a 2021 study revealing that about 30,000 employees in the news sector were laid off. Barstool and other digital media websites had to transform into subscription-based, podcast, and live-stream-focused websites. However, it meant that since the content was going to be changed and the approach of delivering the content was going to be different, some staff, who were no longer going to be relevant to the new course of the company’s strategy, were going to be laid off or downsized.
There have been layoff trends in Barstool primarily focusing on certain roles such as content creators and social media managers as well as editorial staff. While the firm has been silent on some of the ex-employees, there has been enough information, including media coverage and public statements, to enable the audience to identify the affected members.
- High-profile content creators: As a result of corporate reorganization, a number of the presenters of Barstool’s well-liked podcasts and shows were let go or departed. Although some of these characters were essential to the company’s attraction, Barstool ultimately decided to let some of these go as it turned its attention to other verticals.
- Editorial staff: Layoffs severely impacted writers and editors who produced written content for Barstool. Traditional editorial positions were less necessary as podcasts and video material gained popularity. This change is consistent with a larger media trend that has seen a steady decline in textual journalism in favor of content that is more visually stimulating.
- Social media and marketing roles: Barstool reduced the number of traditional marketing and social media positions in favor of content collaborations and smart sponsorships. In this regard, the organization has shifted toward a more centralized approach, which eliminates the need for decentralized teams to oversee separate channels.
Barstool’s layoffs are a reflection of a broader trend in the media industry of staff reductions. Many layoffs have occurred in traditional and digital media firms starting in 2020 as they deal with declining ad revenue, increasing automation, and shifting customer behavior.
- Decline in Advertising Revenue: The popularization of advertising, which had once been the lifeblood of media companies, has taken quite a hit with a continuous drop over time and the emergence of the pandemic. Global ad revenue for traditional media went down by 10% between 2020 and 2021, as was reported by GroupM in 2022, and 60% of advertising revenue was spent on digital advertising. Events such as this have prompted Barstool and other companies, in general, to change the way they earn income, more so by using business to client models and partnerships.
- Consolidation and Mergers: There has also been trap consolidation in the media market as the companies’ corporate objectives are to cut costs. The acquisition of Barstool by Penn National Gaming comes to mind, and such industrial movements have made employers team up with employees and reassign them to new but irrelevant jobs. Media companies such as Vox Media, Buzzfeed, Vice, and others have all been laying off employees, especially in places where there are duplicates after mergers.
- Shift to Digital and Subscription Models: As the content industry continues to experience dwindling advertising revenues, media companies are adopting these models more frequently. As with the rest, Barstool has followed market trends and invested significant funds into podcasts, paid newsletters, and membership-only media sites. While these trends have been embraced and done well by some of the firms, it has led to job cuts in many areas that do not relate to or support these new lines of income generation activities.
Findings from Research and Industry Reviews
Numerous investigations have looked at the causes of these mass layoffs and the efforts being made by businesses like Barstool to adjust. Research released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) claims that media organizations are depending more and more on contractors and freelancers in place of permanent employees. According to the survey, since 2020, over 40% of media organizations have cut their full-time personnel by more than 20%.
Furthermore, research conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Research of Journalism identified the “pivot to video” as a primary cause of layoffs in the media. Businesses are making greater investments in the creation of video content, frequently at the expense of traditional editorial teams. With its focus on YouTube series, live streaming, and video podcasts, Barstool has adopted this trend, which is in line with the industry’s general emphasis on video-first content.
The scenario of Barstool is not a one off. The New York Times, CNN, and other major establishments have laid off thousands of employees since the dawn of 2020. As per the analysis released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the media industry alone saw over 17000 job cuts in the years 2021 and 2022. The trend continued as downsizing became the new normal.
Nor have even old-fashioned media companies, once regarded as safe havens, remained untouched by these trends. For example, in 2020, The Walt Disney Company containerized its media division by laying off thousands of employees in a strategy aimed at shifting to Disney+, something synonymous with the rise of streaming as opposed to ordinary television.
The case of mass firings at Barstool, along with those unfolding in different parts of the media industry, suggests that organizations will have to remain flexible in their structures. With the advent of new platforms, changing strategies of the consumers, and economic factors, it becomes a must for companies to keep reviewing their employee patterns.
In the case of Barstool, there will most probably be an increasing focus on direct-to-consumer revenues, partnerships, and live content. As the company continues its expansion under the ownership of Penn National Gaming, it will likely also venture into new content, including sports betting, which may offer more potential for job creation in very specific sectors.
However, the layoffs at Barstool highlight a fundamental truth about the media landscape: maintaining profitability in a time of fast change frequently means sacrificing employee security. As media businesses persist in addressing these issues, additional layoffs and restructuring could turn into the standard.
Conclusion
The media business is being impacted by a larger story that includes the layoffs at Barstool. Layoffs have become a terrible but inevitable reality for firms as they deal with the issues of diminishing ad revenue, digital transformation, and altering consumer preferences. The route taken by Barstool, starting in 2020, sheds insight on the challenges that media organizations must overcome in order to be competitive. Whether or not this trend continues will mostly rely on how media companies—like Barstool—adapt to the changing environment and figure out new strategies for expanding while keeping their workforces smaller.
