![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MLB-Netflix-430x241.jpg\")
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Netflix acquired three MLB events per season in a three-year rights deal. (Kelly Sullivan\/Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n
Netflix\u2019s debut coverage of Major League Baseball\u2019s Opening Night game drew the second-largest audience for a traditional Opening Day telecast since 2017, with nearly 3 million US viewers.<\/p>\n
The 2026 regular-season opener between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants averaged 2.97 million viewers on Netflix, according to Nielsen\u2019s Big Data + Panel measurement system. <\/p>\n
Netflix fell short of the 3 million mark by 32,000 impressions. Still, the audience was the largest for an Opening Night game since the COVID-affected 2020 season\u2014and the largest outside of that irregular year since Cubs-Cardinals opened the 2017 campaign in front of 3.62 million viewers. Yankees-Nationals averaged 4.01 million viewers for the COVID-delayed 2020 MLB opener, which was played in July.<\/p>\n
With streaming attracting younger audiences, the game delivered MLB\u2019s youngest Opening Day audience in a decade. Among those who streamed, 1.38 million viewers were adults aged 18\u201349, including 636,000 adults aged 18\u201334.<\/p>\n
The game marked the start of a new three-year, three-event MLB rights deal for Netflix. In addition to Opening Night, Netflix will also carry the annual Home Run Derby and the 2026 return of the MLB at Field of Dreams game. <\/p>\n
Under its strategy of airing a small number of special-event games each season, Netflix\u2019s rights could eventually expand to include events such as \u201cMLB at Rickwood Field\u201d or \u201cMLB Speedway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netflix is reportedly paying $150 million for the three-year deal, which covers three marquee events annually and was acquired from the package ESPN opted out of early last year. Disney\u2019s sports network chose to end its long-running MLB partnership at the end of the 2025 season after MLB declined ESPN\u2019s request to reduce the annual rights fee.<\/p>\n
Netflix\u2019s sports strategy emphasizes high-impact, limited-run events rather than full-season weekly schedules. The MLB events join a broader push into live sports that already includes NFL Christmas Day games, WWE\u2019s flagship program Raw, the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Formula 1\u2019s Canadian Grand Prix in 2026, the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup in 2027 and 2031, and high-profile boxing matches\u2014largely focusing on \u201cmega-events\u201d featuring popular celebrities, legends, and top-tier contenders. <\/p>\n
These live rights complement Netflix\u2019s growing slate of sports docuseries, including Drive to Survive (Formula 1), Full Swing (golf), and Break Point (tennis).<\/p>\n
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