Disney joins football creator race with The Overlap deal
Disney+ has struck a multimillion-pound partnership with Gary Neville’s The Overlap, adding Stick to Football and a new Wayne Rooney-led programme as streaming platforms compete for personality-driven football content.
Disney+ has secured a major content partnership with Gary Neville’s The Overlap, stepping up its investment in football programming as creator-led shows become increasingly valuable to global streaming platforms.The agreement includes 40 episodes of flagship programme Stick to Football during the coming season and 50 episodes of a new show, Stick to United, featuring Wayne Rooney and content creator Mark Goldbridge.Neville said: “We’re immensely proud to be partnering with Disney+. It’s a partnership that expands our reach without compromising our identity.“What’s exciting is that we’re not changing who we are. 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.”Disney+ will also commission 20 additional Stick to Football episodes that will initially be exclusive to subscribers before receiving a wider release. The deal also incorporates title sponsorship rights.Stick to Football features Neville alongside Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright and Roy Keane, while Rooney will join The Overlap network on a permanent basis after previously appearing as a guest.The partnership provides Disney+ with a regular football offering without requiring live match rights and gives The Overlap access to the streaming service’s global distribution while retaining its existing YouTube audience.The Overlap has developed rapidly since Neville and former Sky Sports producer Scott Melvin launched the business in 2021. The company said it attracts around 38m monthly YouTube views and generated 2.2bn views across platforms in 2025.Its expansion accelerated after media group Global acquired a majority stake in January. The Overlap subsequently bought Goldbridge’s The United Stand and That’s Football channels, adding a combined 3.7m YouTube subscribers.Disney’s investment also intensifies competition with Netflix, which has partnered with Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger around The Rest is Football after backing extensive programming during the 2026 World Cup.The two agreements point to a widening battle between streaming platforms for football audiences beyond live rights, with established players, pundits and digital creators increasingly able to build media properties with substantial reach of their own.The Overlap’s Disney+ partnership will retain free distribution through YouTube while adding premium programming, giving the business a hybrid model spanning creator platforms and subscription streaming.