Brand

BBC Grants YouTuber Mark Goldbridge Soccer Streaming Rights To Court Gen Z

Published on August 21, 2025

The BBC has partnered with British YouTube personality Mark Goldbridge in a new broadcast rights deal that will see German top-flight soccer matches streamed on social media platforms.

Under the new arrangement, Goldbridge’s YouTube channel “That’s Football” has secured rights to broadcast 20 Bundesliga matches on Friday nights during the 2025-26 season. The channel, which boasts 1.38 million subscribers, will share these rights with Gary Neville’s “The Overlap” YouTube channel (approximately 1.5 million subscribers) and the BBC.

“That’s Football will stream 20 live Bundesliga matches on Friday nights as well as creating 34 weekly shows in 2025-26 – the first creator channel with official league rights,” the channel announced on its official social media accounts.

As The Telegraph reports, the deal positions Goldbridge’s channel alongside established broadcasters, including Sky Sports, BBC, and Amazon, in the Bundesliga’s UK distribution strategy. Sky Sports, which previously held comprehensive rights to the German league, will retain broadcasting privileges for Saturday 5:30 p.m. fixtures.

The agreement represents a major shift in sports broadcasting strategy as traditional media outlets seek new avenues to engage younger audiences.

Creator-Led Content Strategy

Goldbridge, whose real name is Brent Di Cesare, rose to prominence through his Manchester United-focused content. His YouTube presence has generated substantial viewership, with his Manchester United-centered channel “The United Stand” hosting nine livestreams since United’s defeat to Arsenal on August 17, accumulating more than 2 million combined views.

The Bundesliga games will be presented in a watch-along format, featuring live match footage with Goldbridge and other presenters visible on-screen, providing real-time reactions. This format represents a departure from traditional sports broadcasting conventions.

The first match under this new broadcasting arrangement will feature defending champions Bayern Munich against RB Leipzig on August 22.

Trend Toward Digital-First Coverage

The Bundesliga deal is part of a broader industry trend of sports leagues partnering with digital content creators. ESPN recently signed Katie Feeney, a sports and lifestyle content creator with over 14 million social media followers, to create content across the network’s digital channels and appear on premier football programming.

According to ESPN, engagement rates for creator content are up to 13 times higher than typical social platform benchmarks, with their 2024 creator initiatives generating over 400 million cross-platform views.

The Bundesliga has previously experimented with innovative broadcast approaches, including vertical streams of matches in 2019 to reach smartphone users, and “RefCam” technology during high-profile fixtures.