YouTube's Pro-Free Speech Competitor Sees Stock Rise 20% After Massive Partnership
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Look out, Google: YouTube’s free speech-centric competitor has scored a major partnership, and the market is noticing in a big way.
On Jan. 22, Rumble — the less-restrictive alternative video platform backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, which aims to “create technologies that are immune to cancel culture” — announced a partnership with Barstool Sports, the popular, controversy-friendly sports outlet, according to Bloomberg.
The news sent the stock of the company soaring, with shares up by as much as 29 percent the day it was released.
That move was the single biggest intraday change in value since the company went public in September 2022.
The pact, which Bloomberg said “will provide Rumble users access to all of Barstool’s sports and entertainment content on the platform and includes an advertising arrangement,” was hailed as game-changing by Barstool Sports impresario Dave Portnoy.
“I’m excited about Rumble’s commitment to sports and broadening audiences,” Portnoy said in a news release.
“With the power of Barstool Sports, we are going to help Rumble be the top player in the video, cloud, and livestreaming space,” he said.
Rumble chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski was equally optimistic.
“The partnership with Barstool Sports is a major step in pursuit of our mission to continue building a portfolio of widely popular sports and entertainment content,” Pavlovski said in the release.
“Rumble is quickly emerging as a leading platform for the under-30 demographic, and we’re excited for Barstool Sports to be a significant part of our rapid growth,” he added.
BREAKING: Rumble Announces Partnership With @barstoolsports
“With the power of Barstool Sports, we are going to help Rumble be the top player in the video, cloud, and livestreaming space.” @stoolpresidente pic.twitter.com/BxSeRLo9vV
— Rumble – 🏴☠️ $RUM (@rumblevideo) January 22, 2024
Rumble has been a go-to for many conservative and/or controversial personalities and outlets in recent years, notably former Fox News host Dan Bongino and actor/pundit Russell Brand.
According to The New York Times, the site also provides cloud-hosting services for former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, creating a safeguard against the same kind of cloud deplatforming that befell conservative Twitter alternative Parler in the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.
However, the deal with Barstool Sports is the biggest coup the alternative video-hosting platform has pulled off, adding $400 million to its value in just one day.
It’s worth noting that Rumble’s stock is still struggling, down two-thirds since the company went public, according to Bloomberg.
The Barstool agreement, however, could change that — especially given the growth numbers that Barstool has put up despite numerous attempts to cancel the outlet and Portnoy over their provocative content.
“In the past three years, Barstool Sports has grown its audience by 194% and reached 1.6B podcast downloads, along with successful merchandising with 5 million units of apparel, licensed products, and accessories sold,” the news release noted.
In addition to providing content, both Rumble and Barstool will work together to “bring brand advertisers to the Rumble platform.”
Much like Truth Social, Barstool also will avail itself of Rumble’s cloud services, creating an additional layer of un-cancelability.
Granted, Rumble is still a long way off from competing on the level that Google-owned YouTube does.
However, the Barstool move shows it’s slowly but surely gaining traction as an alternative — and with Big Tech tightening speech restrictions by the day, Barstool is unlikely to be the last big name to sign on with Rumble.
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