The Overlap joins Disney+ & launches new show

The Overlap’s flagship Stick To Football show will now be available on Disney+, with the streamer also becoming the headline sponsor of the programme. 

In addition, Disney+ is sponsoring a new show from The Overlap, Stick To United. This will see former Red Devil Wayne Rooney join United Stand host Mark Goldbridge to analyse the club’s latest results as well as provide insight and opinion on the big talking points around it.

Plans for Stick To United had previously been announced when The Overlap acquired Goldbridge’s The United Stand and That’s Football channels earlier this year, without any additional information on hosts or format. Broadcast Sport spoke to Overlap co-founder and host Neville about that deal at the time.

Neville has again spoken to Broadcast Sport about this latest agreement, which you can read here. 

50 episodes of Stick To United, and 40 episodes of Stick To Football, hosted by Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright, and Roy Keane, will be produced during the Premier League season, all of which will still be published on The Overlap’s YouTube channel. There will be additional special episodes of Stick To Football that will be exclusive to Disney+ before landing on YouTube, and Stick To Football’s 20 guest episodes will be exclusive to Disney+ before moving onto YouTube. 

This deal comes after Global took a majority stake in The Overlap at the beginning of this year  with the aim of creating a non-live football media network. 

The Overlap also recently acheived impressive viewership for its Stick To Football shows filmed in the US during the World Cup, reaching over 250 million views across all platforms, including 46.9 million views on YouTube, 203.4 million views across social media, and 2.25 million audio streams

Neville said about this news, “We’re immensely proud to be partnering with Disney+. It’s one of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands, and for us this is a unique partnership that feels right for everyone involved.

“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.

“It’s a partnership that expands our reach without compromising our identity. Football fans around the world can continue to engage with our content wherever and however they choose, while together we’re creating an opportunity to introduce our shows to millions of new viewers globally. We believe that’s a genuinely exciting step forward for both The Overlap and Disney+.”

You can read his thoughts in more detail in his chat with Broadcast Sport here. 

Sean Doyle, VP of unscripted, Disney+ EMEA, said: “As we move into a new era of sports entertainment on Disney+, we’re excited to be bringing one of the UK’s most popular and distinctive sports shows to the platform. What Gary and the team at The Overlap have created with “Stick to Football” - and now “Stick to United with Wayne Rooney” with Wayne Rooney and Mark Goldbridge - is truly unique.

“Adding both shows broadens our local original content offering as we continue to expand into new sports formats, complementing our existing catalogue of drama, comedy, documentary, reality and ESPN on Disney+. I can’t wait for fans to see the special episodes we have in the pipeline. Watch this space.”

Rooney said: “Having worked with Gary, Roy, Jamie, Wrighty and Jill on both “Stick to Football” and “The Overlap’s Fan Debate” show it was a natural next step to co-host a new show from The Overlap that is totally dedicated to everything Manchester United. I am delighted to co-host “Stick to United with Wayne Rooney” with Mark Goldbridge, which will be available to watch on The United Stand in addition to Disney+, where “The Real Rooneys” featuring me, Coleen and our 4 boys will premiere soon.”

Goldbridge said: “I’m massively excited to be working with Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney on “Stick to United with Wayne Rooney” on The United Stand. This is a historic milestone for fan-led media and is exactly why our deal with The Overlap was so compelling. It’s another huge step forward for The United Stand community to join forces with a undisputed legend of the club.”

Simon Pitts, group CEO of Global and co-chair of The Overlap said: “The Overlap is already one of the UK’s most successful sports entertainment brands and this exciting new partnership with Disney+ now gives it the worldwide platform it deserves. Gary and The Overlap have an ambitious growth plan which fits perfectly with our goal for Global Studios to be the home of the best audio and video brands on the planet”.