As Netflix continues to shop for one-off sports ‘events,’ it could have eyes on the MLB Home Run Derby.
Netflix has been in talks with Major League Baseball about a potential deal to carry the annual Home Run Derby, Lucas Shaw and Hannah Miller of Bloomberg reported Friday, and the company “may be interested in additional baseball programming as well.”
The Home Run Derby is part of the rights package ESPN opted out of earlier this year, which also includes Sunday Night Baseball, the Wild Card playoffs and additional inventory. MLB is widely expected to split the rights multiple ways as it tries to recoup as much of ESPN’s current $550 million/year rights fee as possible.
After ESPN opted out in February, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he would have potential replacement options lined up within weeks, then by the All-Star Game, but there has been little news on that front lately.
Netflix, it should be noted, was reported as far back as February to have held talks with MLB, though it was not clear at the time whether those talks centered on the ESPN package or the league’s broader media rights for the 2028 season.
The streamer is one of several companies mentioned in conjunction with all or part of the ESPN package, from the incumbent itself (which was shut out of talks for months until MLB returned to the table), to Comcast (NBC/Peacock), Apple and Fox Sports.
It is no surprise that Netflix would have interest in the Derby, which in a typical year is eclipsed only by the following day’s MLB All-Star Game as the most-watched sporting event between the end of the NBA Finals and start of the football season.
As the Derby skews younger than the All-Star Game, annually outperforming the Midsummer Classic among adults under 50, a streamer like Netflix may be particularly well-suited to carrying the event.
The Derby also fits with the Netflix sports strategy of picking up one-off ‘events’ rather than full season packages. In a recent New York Times profile, the company’s VP in charge of sports Brandon Riegg was said to be unconvinced that acquiring full seasons of sports leagues is in the best interests of the company.
After years standing on the sidelines, Netflix has become an increasingly active bidder on live sports rights. The company is in year two of a three-year contract to carry Christmas Day NFL games and last year acquired rights to the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
According to John Ourand of Puck, the streamer also made a “serious bid” for rights to the USGA golf events, including the U.S. Open, outbidding linear companies CBS, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery. (NBC is expected to hold onto the rights.)
