Disney+ has found a way to capture Manchester United’s global audience for the 2026/27 season without signing a deal with the Premier League club.
Disney+ has announced a one-year partnership with The Overlap, becoming the headline sponsor of both Stick to Football and the new Stick to United with Wayne Rooney.
Stick to Football, the flagship show on Gary Neville’s The Overlap platform, has amassed a sizeable following since launching in 2021. It features Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright and Roy Keane discussing the biggest stories from the week.
Other Overlap shows, including its interview series and fan debate, have attracted sponsorship from Sky Bet, while Stick to Football has secured smaller brand activations, including a partnership with Microsoft that saw the hosts use AI to test each other’s football knowledge.
The new show, which has already attracted plenty of attention on social media, is Stick to United with Wayne Rooney. It will see Manchester United’s record goalscorer join Mark Goldbridge, founder of fan channel The United Stand, to discuss the club’s latest results and performances.
As part of the agreement, Disney+ will carry 40 new episodes of Stick to Football, with 20 exclusive to the platform for a limited time, as well as six additional episodes commissioned specifically for Disney+.
Stick to United with Wayne Rooney will launch with 50 episodes across Disney+, The Overlap’s existing platforms and The United Stand’s YouTube channel, with extended content exclusive to Disney+.
“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,” said Neville.
“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.”
Amazon goes directly to Manchester United
Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in world football, making its global fanbase a valuable target for streaming platforms looking to build their sports audiences.
Disney+’s approach differs from Amazon Prime Video, which has agreed a record-breaking deal with Manchester United to produce a new All or Nothing-style documentary, like previous series with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
The fly-on-the-wall series will follow Manchester United throughout the 2026/27 season, covering the men’s, women’s and academy teams before its global premiere in summer 2027. Amazon will therefore have direct access to the club, its players and staff.
However, Disney+ is taking a different route by working with the media businesses that have already built large audiences around Manchester United. One of those businesses is The United Stand, which has been one of the pioneers of a new type of football media created around YouTube, watchalongs and fan-led commentary.
The Overlap has since brought The United Stand into its wider media operation, acquiring the fan channel and sister platform That’s Football earlier this year in a deal reportedly worth a seven-figure sum.
Goldbridge is still the face of The United Stand, which now sits next to The Overlap’s more personality-driven football content featuring former players and pundits.
The United Stand and That’s Football have a combined YouTube following of more than 3.7 million subscribers, while The Overlap has around 1.75 million.
This gives Disney+ access to a varied audience, combining the digital-first fanbase built by Goldbridge with the more traditional football following attracted by Neville, Carragher, Keane, Wright and Scott.
“What Gary and the team at The Overlap have created with Stick to Football – and now Stick to United with Wayne Rooney – is truly unique,” said Sean Doyle, VP, Unscripted, Disney+ EMEA.
“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+. ”
