What is Going on Between Barstool Sports and Call Her Daddy?
Creating a blog post because my tweets are on rolling 60 day autodelete. This post is taken from multiple tweetstorm about Call Her Daddy and Barstool Sports.
What is Call Her Daddy?
Call Her Daddy is a podcast hosted by Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn
It talks about sex and relationships with a target audience of young women
It's the #17 podcast in the US
80 episodes since Dec. 2018
Why Do People Listen To It?
It's built a loyal following which calls itself the #daddygang
It talks about a forbidden topic: sex
It's powered by one of the most powerful marketing machines in the world: Barstool Sports
Why Did the Show Stop?
The show hasn't aired since April 8th
Barstool and the Call Her Daddy hosts are locked in a contract dispute
It has leaked into the press with the NY Post covering it recently
Why Is There a Dispute?
The hosts make around ~$500K ($70K base salary + rest in performance-based bonuses)
The hosts wanted to renegotiate their contract despite being on a 3 year deal with more than a year left
What Did Barstool Say?
Barstool is happy to renegotiate contracts because it means the podcast is successful
They started the negotiations in good faith but then heard Call Her Daddy was shopping around to other networks
What Were the Demands?
$1MM guaranteed salary
Hosts wanted to be freelancers instead of employees
50% of Barstool merchandise revenue goes to hosts and hosts can produce their own merchandise
Sofia and Alex own the name Call Her Daddy
David Portnoy’s Response
Dave Portnoy balked at the demands but wanted to figure out a way to get a reasonable deal done
Barstool wanted to start doing new episodes because they were losing $100K in advertising fees per episode
What Was the Counter-Offer?
$500K guaranteed salary plus performance bonuses
Reduce the length of their contract by 6 months
Sofia and Alex will own Call Her Daddy IP
7.5% royalty stream on merchandise
80% ownership in Call Her Daddy alcohol
The Dispute Between Alex and Sofia
Sofia's BF is Peter Nelson, an HBO executive.
He was openly shopping the show to other networks
He openly hates Barstool Sports and sponsored a hit piece on them in June 2019
Deal with Wondery
Peter got them a deal with the podcast network Wondery
They were going to get sued if they signed and were trying to come up with a loophole to escape the contract
Alex decided she wanted to do a deal with Barstool and Sofia didn't want to join
The New Deal with Barstool
Alex would start her own show and get 75% while Barstool owned 25%
Sofia was offered her own show with $500K guaranteed
Instead, Sofia reneged and is now planning on suing Barstool and Alex
Erika Nardini Speaks
On the Token CEO podcast, Erika talks about how important Barstool's role was in launching Call Her Daddy
Barstool finds great talent and "pours gasoline on them to make their brand explode"
Why Is Peter Nelson Involved?
Why is an HBO executive shopping around his GF's podcast instead of doing his job?
Is he trying to become their manager or take a role in the show?
HBO's Role
HBO is owned by AT&T and has a notoriously conservative brand
HBO is shifting from linear to OTT
This is embarrassing for HBO because it looks like their executive is dragging them into an unnecessary PR nightmare
What Are The Next Steps?
Barstool wants to get a deal done, but it appears like Sofia doesn't and continues to move the goalposts
It's unclear if Alex will do her own show on Barstool
What is Intellectual Property?
4 types of IP: trademark, copyright, trade secret, and patent
Barstool Sports cares the most about trademarks and copyright
Why is IP important?
Value that is accrued in a brand is accrued in the IP
Barstool cares the most about owning the brand
They invest millions in marketing, resources and time to build a brand so logically they should also own it
Why Do Companies Protect IP?
If a company doesn't own their IP, they can't profit off of the brand
IP law is the foundation for protecting a brand and companies will go to extreme lengths to protect it
A trademark establishes a clear relationship between a brand and it's owner
No else can launch under that brand
Barstool Sports is owned by Barstool Sports and no one else can profit off of it
The NFL Enforcement Example
The NFL is known to go to extreme lengths for protecting trademarks
They threatened to sue Shopify by making vague claims about a merchant using the word Super Bowl for a parody product
What is a Strong Trademark?
Brand and name is really unique
Think Nike, Google, Adidas
No descriptive words are used to describe it
What is a Weak Trademark?
Descriptive words are used to describe it
For example, you can't trademark Vodka Soda Drink, but you can trademark Call Her Daddy Vodka
Coca-Cola Example
Sometimes a brand becomes so valuable you can't even use the name for another product category
For example, Coca-Cola is a beverage, but you couldn't receive a trademark for Coca-Cola cleaning supplies because someone would think you are using the drink
Generic Trademarks
Sometimes a brand becomes so powerful, it becomes generic
Aspirin, dry ice, and elevators are examples of this phenomenon
Brands will spend millions to prevent this.
Trademarks Are About Branding
Who they are?
What they stand for?
How people and brands interact with them?
Barstool is an IP company
Barstool thinks of itself like Disney or Viacom
These companies make billions off of products associated with their brands
Disney amusement parks generated $7B in revenue in 2019
The Importance of Branding
Brands should stand for something
If you see a high-end brand in a low-end store or vice versa, you make a judgment
Barstool Sports cares deeply about its brands and who is associated with them
Sofia's IG Story
The podcast idea originated in March 2018
Alex and Sofia were best friends and roommates
Barstool was instrumental in making it popular
Why Is She Exploring Options?
Wanted to consider other options
One reason is the benefit of #DaddyGang
She didn't explain what this means and I think it's just an excuse
Current Situation
She regrets how it went down
Still wants to work something out
She doesn't mention Peter Nelson (Suitman)
Her Relationship With Alex
Alex did something "fucked up" (doesn't explain what it is)
She feels betrayed and wouldn't do a show with Alex under current circumstances
Claims Alex is trying to control the show and doesn't want to be her employee
Final Comments From Her
The show was always 50/50 (not true and technically speaking it's 100% owned by Barstool)
She loves the #daddygang and says they are a family
Dave Portnoy Responds
He expects a lawsuit
Her IG story said nothing
He mentions how she said nothing about Peter Nelson
He believes they are giving amazing deal and "suitman" is preventing a deal from happening
They had no preferences on who they did deal with, but the cards played out that they are talking to Alex
He is still open to giving Sofia a podcast
Final Thoughts
Barstool and Dave Portnoy are clearly winning in the public eye and are getting tons of free press in the process
Sofia's response was inauthentic, clearly rehearsed and if anything damaged her brand
Alex Resigns with Barstool Sports and Explains Why Sofia Isn’t Joining
Why Did I Spend Many Hours Writing This?
Call Her Daddy has revenue in the eight figures
Podcasts are an integral part of most media businesses and this is one of the few times I've seen the inner-workings of a podcast business