Goalhanger, the independent British production company behind The Rest Is Football, has converted a 40-day World Cup experiment into a two-year deal with Netflix, in a move that offers a masterclass for any UK business looking to punch above its weight with a global partner.
The show, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will return to Netflix for the 2026/27 Premier League season after a daily run filmed in New York during the 2026 FIFA World Cup made it one of the streamer’s hits of the summer.
The numbers explain why Netflix came back for more. The series appeared in Netflix’s Daily Top 10 TV chart every day of its 40-day run, peaking at No. 1 in the UK. The podcast itself, one of the world’s biggest sports shows, draws over 7 million monthly streams.
The extended deal takes the partnership through to the next Euros, held across the UK and Ireland in 2028. New episodes air on Netflix from August 2026, every Monday and Friday, with the three hosts appearing throughout the full 40 weeks of the Premier League and Champions League season.
A trial run, converted
For SME owners, the structure of the deal is as instructive as its scale. Goalhanger, which also produces The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics, used the World Cup as a proving ground, demonstrated demand with daily chart data, then negotiated a longer contract from a position of strength. Crucially, the company remains the producer, keeping control of the brand it built.
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