Disney+ and Netflix are buying into football – without buying the live action

The Conversation reports that streaming giants Disney plus and Netflix are turning to football without actually buying any live matches. Disney plus has hooked up with former player Gary Neville’s Overlap to air his “Stick to Football” talk show and a Manchester United‑focused programme co‑hosted by Wayne Rooney and YouTuber Mark Goldbridge, while Netflix now carries Gary Lineker’s “The Rest is Football” podcast that recaps World Cup action twice a week. The live broadcast rights and highlight packages, however, stay with traditional broadcasters such as Sky, TNT and the BBC, which together pay about one point six seven billion pounds a year for those rights. That accounts for roughly seventy percent of all television spending on sports in the United Kingdom. By adding sports‑adjacent content, the services hope to lure viewers who already spend an average of four and a half hours a day watching video at home. The expansion suggests streamers will continue adding football‑adjacent shows, though whether this will improve the overall viewing experience remains to be seen.

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