Exclusive: Gary Neville on The Overlap partnering with Disney+

For co-founder and co-host Gary Neville, The Overlap’s partnership with Disney+ is, “exactly what we would have wanted – a major entertainment deal while keeping our loyal YouTube community.” 

The pair announced the deal today, 13 August, and it sees the flagship programme Stick To Football and new show Stick To United, hosted by Wayne Rooney and Mark Goldbridge, available on the streaming service as well as The Overlap’s YouTube channel - with Disney+ also becoming the headline sponsor of both. A series of special episodes will also be exclusive to Disney+ before going onto YouTube. You can read about the details here. 

Talks between Disney and The Overlap began a few months ago, before the World Cup, and were spearheaded by Neville’s co-founder Scott Melvin, who worked with Disney+’s teams to find something that worked for both signed. Global has also been, “hugely supportive,” since becoming a majority owner of The Overlap earlier this year.

Neville told Broadcast Sport, “We’ve aligned on high quality production and taking risks,” which wasn’t a given after having similar, “conversations in the past that wouldn’t have suited us but this does,” and that, “five to six years ago I would have said this was a long, long way away.” 

The ability to keep their loyal YouTube audience was a big part of the agreement, as well as keeping editorial control. However, there will be collaboration between the two media entities, with the Disney+ exclusive special episodes to, “link into Disney’s programming and schedule. Our interviews have sometimes crossed over into other territories, with actors, musicians, so the ability is there to be exploratory and brave.”

These episodes will move to YouTube after a limited time on the streaming platform, when its exclusive period ends. 

A major part of the deal sees the launch of Stick To United, which sees United legend Rooney host alongside content creator Goldbridge, which Neville says will be, “exceptional.” The pair, “can stand on their own,” he believes, but they will also be regularly joined by guests, including Neville himself, “from time to time.” His appearances are sure to draw eyeballs given his and Goldbridge’s previous disagreements, and Neville told Broadcast Sport about how the pair will interact after The Overlap acquired Goldbridge’s United Stand and That’s Football channels earlier this year - you can read about that here. 

Neville admits, “Eight or nine years ago I was a massive sceptic of fan YouTube channels. I was wrong. I’ve been a massive convert, really since we started our Fan Debate shows five years ago. The knowledge fans have of their clubs is incredible.

“Fan culture is changing, they want to have that debate and insight through the week. If you think it’s ridiculous you’ll get left behind very quickly.”

He’s now excited to see the mix of content creators and more established talent, saying, “Putting that with an ex-player and a journalist is an interesting dynamic where you’ll learn new things about the game.”

The Overlap’s expansion onto Disney+ comes at a time when many shows formerly thought of as podcasts have become increasingly visual and moved into TV and streaming, including a deal between Overlap rival The Rest Is Football and Netflix that Neville says, “is completely different,” and, “not comparable,” as it isn’t as integrated with the streaming brand.

Neville thinks this shows how the content is now effectively TV, “People referred to Stick To Football as a podcast, but for me it’s not. It’s a programme. It goes out as audio as well but I see it as a programme.

“Coming from a TV background, bringing people together into a room and getting the different dynamics is where the magic happens.”

While Neville is, “delighted to be connected with a world class entertainment brand,” we can expect plenty more in the coming months. He reveals there will be a new Manchester United focused concept coming out, and a redesign of Goldbridge’s That’s Football channel that will see new hosts coming in and it transforming into a daily news podcast. 

He says, “This is what we wanted when we made the Global merger,” but there is still a long way to go for the pair.