Disney+ has successfully acquired the broadcasting rights for content from The Overlap podcast in a lucrative agreement. This deal will allow Gary Neville’s Stick to Football brand to compete directly with Gary Lineker’s Netflix-supported series, Rest is Football, amidst a rivalry between two major streaming services.
As part of this arrangement, which also includes title sponsorship, Disney+ will air 40 episodes of Stick to Football this season featuring the regular cast of Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright, and Roy Keane. Additionally, there will be 50 episodes of a new series titled Stick to United, co-hosted by Wayne Rooney and content creator Mark Goldbridge.
While the episodes will still be accessible on YouTube, Disney+ plans to produce six exclusive episodes of Stick to Football for its subscribers, which will be available for a limited time prior to their YouTube release.
The Overlap will maintain ownership of the intellectual property rights, with Disney+ committing a substantial financial investment to promote and distribute the content through its platform.
Established in 2021 by Neville and former Sky Sports producer Scott Melvin, The Overlap has quickly ascended to become one of the most prominent football content platforms in the UK. It has also expanded its offerings to include other sports, such as the well-received Stick to Cricket podcast hosted by Michael Vaughan and David Lloyd, launched last year.
The company reported that it is currently achieving 38 million monthly views on YouTube and has amassed a total of 2.2 billion views across all platforms in 2025, indicating its ongoing growth.
In January, the multimedia company Global, which owns LBC radio and other podcasts like The News Agents, acquired a majority stake in The Overlap. This was followed in April by their purchase of Goldbridge’s YouTube channels, The United Stand and That’s Football.
“We are extremely proud to collaborate with Disney+,” stated Neville. “This partnership allows us to broaden our audience while staying true to our core identity.”
“What excites us is that we remain unchanged. Our community can continue to enjoy our content as they always have on YouTube, while Disney+’s extensive global audience will now have the opportunity to discover it as well,” he added.
Rooney will also become a permanent member of The Overlap team after making previous guest appearances. Additionally, Disney+ has acquired the rights to a new documentary focusing on Rooney’s family life, titled The Real Rooneys.
This investment by Disney+ follows a similar announcement made last month regarding Netflix and Lineker’s Goalhanger production company, which will see the Rest is Football series, featuring Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, available on the platform for the next two seasons.
During its 40-day run of daily episodes filmed during the World Cup, Rest is Football consistently ranked in Netflix’s daily top 10 charts, prompting the US company to extend their collaboration into the domestic season.
The Rest is Football series garnered over 7 million monthly streams last season, leading Lineker to humorously remark that its competitor is “languishing miles behind.”
