The Overlap heads to Disney+ as streaming battle for football shows heats up

Gary Neville's football media company, The Overlap, is heading to Disney+ as streamers increasingly sign up creator-led football shows and the audiences that come with them.

Under the one-year deal, Disney+ will pay to sponsor and stream Stick to Football, while The Overlap keeps ownership of the show. Disney+ will also carry a new Manchester United spin-off, Stick to United with Wayne Rooney, co-hosted by Rooney and content creator Mark Goldbridge.

Stick to Football will continue to appear on YouTube alongside its arrival on Disney+, though some episodes will be exclusive to the streamer.

The Overlap has grown into one of the UK's biggest football media brands since launching in 2021. Media conglomerate Global bought a majority stake in the business in January and it subsequently acquired Goldbridge's YouTube channels, The United Stand and That's Football, in April.

Neville emphasised that the deal would not change anything for fans.

"Our community will continue to enjoy our content in exactly the way they always have through YouTube, while at the same time Disney+'s incredible global streaming audience will now be able to discover and enjoy it too."

Sean Doyle, VP of Unscripted at Disney+ EMEA, said the move marks a "new era of sports entertainment" for the platform.

The tie-up puts Disney on more equal footing with Netflix, which struck a similar arrangement with Gary Lineker's Goalhanger production company earlier this summer. That deal brought The Rest Is Football to Netflix during the World Cup before the partnership was extended for the next two seasons.

Disney, meanwhile, has also been leaning further into creator-led formats. Earlier this month it struck a partnership with TikTok that will let creators make videos using official clips from Disney films and TV shows, with some of that content also appearing on Disney+.