The UK’s Global Media Group has acquired The Overlap, the sports media network founded by former England and Manchester United soccer player Gary Neville.
Global, which calls itself Europe’s biggest radio group and is behind the popular News Agents podcast, has taken a majority stake in The Overlap and the new outfit will be co-chaired by Neville and Global Group CEO Simon Pitts, with Scott Melvin as lead Executive Director. Financials and percentage stake of the deal were not disclosed. The Overlap was previously financially backed by Miroma Group but the group has now exited its stake following a strategic investment process led by The Overlap.
Going forwards, the idea is for The Overlap to become a media network spanning brands and channels across different sports, while utilizing Global’s data insights and ad sales. In this vein, The Overlap could become a similar beast to Goalhanger, the production company co-founded by ex-soccer player Gary Lineker that makes the Rest Is… podcast franchise.
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Launched in 2021 by Neville, The Overlap says it gets more than 38 million monthly views on YouTube, and it recently announced it had achieved 2.2 billion views across all platforms in 2025. The Overlap content spans sports including football, rugby and cricket and is home to fan debates, exclusive interviews and the Stick to Football series. Neville, who also co-runs a production outfit called Buzz 16, is involved with much of its content along with other player-turned-pundits like Roy Keane, Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher. Sky has previously aired The Overlap on Tour, which saw the four take a trip around the UK and Ireland.
Neville said: “The Overlap started as an idea that we thought people might like and we went for it. 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.”
Pitts called The Overlap “one of the UK’s most successful and dynamic sports entertainment brands, with a hugely exciting growth plan.” “Gary and Scott 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,” he added.
The news follows the launch of Global Studios for video-first podcast content, which came as Global acquired The Fellas Studios late last year. Global Studios is home to Global’s podcast slate, including The News Agents and My Therapist Ghosted Me, alongside the likes of The Fellas, Saving Grace, Pitchside and Bach & Arthur. Hosted by ex-BBC heavyweights Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, the daily News Agents pod is one of the most popular current affairs podcasts in the UK.