Gary Neville & Global-backed company begins move to create media network with acquisition of Mark Goldbridge’s channels

Mark Goldbridge at The Valley Charlton

The Overlap has acquired YouTube channels The United Stand and That’s Football. 

Buying the channels, which are fronted by Mark Goldbridge, is the first step in the company’s strategy to create a football media network. This has been a stated aim since Global took a majority stake in The Overlap at the beginning of this year. 

Broadcast Sport has spoken to Overlap co-founder and regular host Gary Neville about the deal and its implications, which you can read here. 

The United Stand and That’s Football have a combined 3.7m subscribers on YouTube, with The United Stand the biggest Manchester United fan channel on the platform.

Under the new ownership, the two channels will have a significant editorial expansion. Existing content produced by Mark Goldbridge will continue to be shown, with new programming to be added. For The United Stand this will include new formats such as Stick To United, a format featuring former players and journalists, and The Daily United, a daily Manchester United news strand. 

Meanwhile, That’s Football will be relaunched and rebranded to a football news and podcast channel. 

The new formats and relaunch are expected this summer. 

Neville said: “We are building what we believe will become one of the most exciting Independent football communities in the world – one that gives fans direct, personality-led content. The United Stand and That’s Football are two of the best-known football channels on YouTube, and our intention is to develop them into the most compelling Manchester United and football news channels in the market.”

Scott Melvin, executive director of The Overlap, said: “The market for independent football content is growing rapidly and the opportunity to build a genuinely scaled network within it is one we have been working towards for some time. The Overlap exists to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and editorial range that allows the best channels to reach their full potential. Mark has built two of the biggest audiences in this space, and this deal accelerates everything we are building towards.”

Goldbridge added: “I’ve spent the last 10 years building The United Stand for Manchester United fans and That’s Football for all fans, and I’m prouder of that than anything I’ve ever done. This deal is about what comes next. The Overlap has the ambition, the credibility, and the resources to help me take what I do to the next level.”