Global buys majority stake in Gary Neville’s YouTube group The Overlap

The YouTube media business co-founded by Gary Neville has been bought by one of Europe’s biggest commercial radio companies, in the latest sign of the streaming platform’s increasing influence in sports broadcasting.Global, which already owns the likes of LBC and podcasts including The News Agents, has taken a majority stake in The Overlap, co-founded with Scott Melvin by the former Manchester United defender, who remains one of the channel’s most prominent figures.The deal aims to use Neville’s outlet to emulate the success of another video podcast network founded by a former footballer – Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger, which regularly tops the podcast charts with its “The Rest Is …” stable of shows.Work is now under way to expand it into a “multi-format sports media network”, as YouTube use continues to increase across audiences of all ages, with sports punditry a big draw.The Overlap’s content includes its flagship show Stick to Football, in which Neville and his fellow pundits Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and Ian Wright are often joined by guests.It also confirms Neville as another former player able to tap into the power of new media. Under the deal for The Overlap, Neville will remain co-chair of the company.He also co-founded the sports entertainment production company Buzz 16 in 2017.Neville launched The Overlap only in 2021, but it is now one of the UK’s most popular football content channels. The company said it has more than 38m monthly views on YouTube and achieved 2.2bn views across all platforms in 2025.“The Overlap started as an idea that we thought people might like and we went for it,” Neville said. “What has happened since then has been a great journey and it’s a team that I love working with and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of. We never thought of it as a business, we just wanted to create something that people loved and would come back to watch every week.“We see huge growth potential for The Overlap and have spent the last few months in a strategic investment process and are delighted to have found the perfect partner in Global to power us forward and create The Overlap Network with the aim of becoming a world-leading football and sports media platform.”As well as highlighting the importance now placed on video podcasting, the deal demonstrates the rapid challenge YouTube outlets are posing to traditional broadcasters. Many of the biggest names on The Overlap are former sports professionals who made their names as pundits on Sky Sports and other mainstream channels.The Overlap has already attracted attention for the often astringent views of Keane, never one to pull his punches in his assessments, as well as with its interviews with the likes of the former Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney.Wright’s views on the treatment of Jude Bellingham also earned headlines.It has even dipped its toe in live broadcasting, recently winning the rights to the German Bundesliga. It shares the rights with the BBC and That’s Football, another YouTube channel run by the YouTuber Mark Goldbridge.While The Overlap network already includes cricket and rugby channels, as well as one focusing on the US, the plan is to widen it into “a media network spanning multiple brands and channels across sports verticals, led by football”.Simon Pitts, Global’s group chief executive, said: “Gary and Scott [now CEO] have done an extraordinary job building The Overlap and we’re thrilled to welcome them and their fantastic team to Global as we embark on this next phase of growth together.“We want Global Studios to be the home of the best audio and video brands on the planet and The Overlap’s ambition, creativity and unrivalled connection with fans is a perfect fit.”