“When does Sky wonder if they are paying a lot of money in wages to train their next competitor?”
It is a question posed by Richard Gillis, who hosts the Unofficial Partner sports business podcast.
While Neville started out in the media as a pundit with Sky Sports, the 51-year-old is now one of the biggest players in a rapidly changing industry.
After co-founding the sports entertainment production company Buzz16 in 2016, Neville launched YouTube platform ‘The Overlap’ in 2021.
‘The Overlap’ produces ‘Stick to Football’ – one of the UK’s most popular football content channels with 2.2 billion views across all platforms in 2025.
Earlier this year it entered into a strategic partnership with radio giants Global, with the aim to create a multi-format sports media network.
Neville this summer exited Buzz16, focusing his attention on ‘The Overlap’, which has branched out into cricket and rugby, and secured live Bundesliga rights.
The YouTube channels of United influencer Mark Goldbridge’s were recently acquired, a further sign of the influence Neville now wields in football’s media industry.
Goldbridge made his name with expletive-laden rants during streamed ‘watchalongs’ of United matches, and his channels have around four million subscribers.
Gillis points out that Neville was attracted to the Goldbridge brand, and his United Stand podcast, because it creates noise when there is no football.
“Noise is valuable,” Gillis told BBC Sport. “Man Utd generate more of it than any other club in the Premier League.
“Anger creates engagement. And from the Sky commentary box, Neville is well placed to create anger.”
In a bid to ramp up its content, ‘The Overlap’ is believed to have targeted national newspaper journalists to come on board and cover United.
“It poses questions,” Gillis says of this development.
“Currently, Neville is the story. He says something, the media reports it, the fans respond to it. A valuable loop.
“At what point does The Overlap and the United Stand (a Goldbridge channel) become the rivals of the media?”
“What is the United Stand now? A noise merchant, or a news organisation?”
To many, it probably does not matter whether Neville’s comments about United’s running are valid or not.
They create headlines, column inches and legitimate talking points under the Sky Sports name.
Yet Neville is himself a media mogul who also works within another organisation.
And at present, when measured by media coverage and impact, all parties are winners.
