Disney+ Signs The Overlap Deal as Streamer Expands Into Creator-Led Sports Media
Disney+ has signed a one-year partnership with The Overlap, bringing Gary Neville’s Stick to Football and a new Manchester United-focused programme hosted by Wayne Rooney and Mark Goldbridge to the streaming service.
The agreement, announced on August 13, will make Disney+ the headline sponsor of Stick to Football and the newly created Stick to United with Wayne Rooney for the 2026/27 football season. The shows will remain available through their existing digital platforms, including YouTube, while Disney+ receives additional and time-limited exclusive content.
Disney says 40 new episodes of Stick to Football will be carried on Disney+, with 20 available exclusively on the platform for a limited period. Six additional episodes filmed outside the UK have also been commissioned specifically for Disney+.
The existing Stick to Football line-up includes Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright and Roy Keane.
The second part of the deal introduces Stick to United with Wayne Rooney, a new programme focused entirely on Manchester United. Rooney will co-host with digital football personality Mark Goldbridge, whose fan-led media operation has developed a substantial audience through The United Stand.
Disney+ has ordered 50 episodes of the new format. The programme will continue appearing through The United Stand’s YouTube channel, while Disney+ will carry extended versions containing additional material.
Stick to United begins streaming on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on August 18, followed by Stick to Football on August 20.
The deal is notable beyond football.
It gives Disney+ a direct position inside a form of sports programming that was largely built outside conventional television: personality-driven shows developed on YouTube, podcasts and social platforms before moving into major streaming services.
The Overlap was founded by Neville in 2021 and became part of Global Studios after Global acquired a majority stake in the business earlier this year. Global says the platform generated 2.2 billion views across platforms in 2025.
Disney+ executive Sean Doyle described the agreement as part of the platform's move into a new era of sports entertainment, alongside its wider catalogue and ESPN programming.
The strategy also places Disney+ alongside a broader streaming-industry move toward creator-led sports conversation. The Guardian notes that Netflix has already built a relationship around Gary Lineker's The Rest Is Football, putting established streaming platforms increasingly in competition for formats that originally grew through podcasts and online audiences.
Rather than pulling The Overlap away from YouTube, Disney's approach is designed to sit alongside it — using an established creator audience to bring programming into the subscription-streaming ecosystem.
