MLB Opening Night will reportedly air on Netflix

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 27: A view of the scoreboard showing Opening Day 2025 before an MLB game between the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals on March 27, 2025 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire)

The next Major League Baseball season will reportedly begin on Netflix.

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Thursday that Netflix has acquired rights to next season’s standalone Yankees-Giants Major League Baseball opener, marking the first MLB event to air on the streamer. It has been reported for months that Netflix is poised to acquire the Home Run Derby, but there had been little concrete indication that the company would acquire any actual games as part of its deal.

Not only will Netflix carry the Opening Night game next season, but it is also “expected to share” at least some portion of the MLB Special Event contests, such as the recent games from the Field of Dreams, Rickwood Field or Bristol Motor Speedway. Fox has owned rights to those special event games and may still air one, but per Marchand, “a handful” will air on Netflix and/or NBCUniversal.

Netflix and NBCUniversal are close to three-year deals to acquire the slate of rights ESPN opted out of earlier this season, which includes Opening Day, Sunday Night Baseball (NBCU), the Home Run Derby (Netflix) and Wild Card playoffs (NBCU). ESPN is poised to acquire an entirely new package of rights that would include a new night of exclusive games, MLB.tv, and local rights to five clubs.

It was not clear from Marchand’s report whether Netflix will air a standalone season opener every year or just next season. Next year marks the first time since 2015 that the baseball season has opened with a single game, marking a shift after the past five seasons opened with a full slate of games.

Netflix continues to beef up its live sports slate with a number of one-off events. MLB Opening Night joins the NFL on Christmas Day, occasional boxing cards, and the next two FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments.

MLB will be the only of the major leagues to begin its season on a direct-to-subscriber streaming service. The NFL season begins annually on NBC, and starting this season, the NBA season will as well. One might have thought that if MLB was to strike a deal with NBC, the MLB season would begin on the network as well. (Rounding out the “Big Four,” the NHL season begins annually on ESPN.)

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Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. You can contact him here or on the social media websites X (Twitter) or Bluesky.

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Comments 11

Sal Monella says:

10 months ago

Sorry Grandpa…
Jtk1 says:

10 months ago

I think this is beyond dumb that MLB is planning on opening the season next year on Netflix. So I have a few questions about that, are they only getting 1 game like previously reported, or will they now have a game every week or so? Also if they only do 1 game will they still show the home run derby or not now? And also , will this game be shown on local RSN where it can be shown to everyone on the MLB package or will it be blacked out?
ESL says:

10 months ago

This is a terrible look for MLB to have their opening game on a streamer. MLB just doesn’t get it. They are not the NFL or NBA. MLB needs to expand its reach on a national level. Having opening night on a streamer will not produce much viewership nationally. MLB just doesnt get it. They need reach before relying on streamers. Look at this weekend. One of the most exciting end of season weekends in recent history. Multiple pennant races with playoffs on the line for many teams. HR chase for Cal Raleigh. Where are the MLB tv partners? For Friday night, outside of Apple, there is no national coverage. ESPN has nothing. Turner has nothing. Saturday Fox has 1 game tomorrow night sandwiched around their college football coverage. And on the last day of the regular season, with many things on the line, there is 0 national coverage. I am not counting MLB network since that is a niche channel. It’s just a terrible look. I am hoping this NBC deal goes through. I thought NBC having opening night would have been good synergy (since they have opening night of the NBA and NFL). But instead, MLB goes to a streamer.
- Sean says:
  
  10 months ago
  
  The number of U.S subscribers that Netflix has at this point is not that far from the number of households ESPN was available in at its peak. It’s pretty much the default streaming service for the majority of the population. If TNF on Prime (which has fewer subscribers) can get the same number of viewers it did on broadcast TV, I think MLB games would do the same.
- GARFIELD says:
  
  10 months ago
  
  NBA rating and viewership is not much better than MLB. I could see the NFL but NBA in viewership or popularity is no better than MLB.
- Sal Monella says:
  
  10 months ago
  
  Maybe they can play the game in Australia at 2am. Be a great start to the season. Every inning can have a ghost runner on third. Break a tie with a base running contest.
Rick James Bible Owner says:

10 months ago

If Fox is gonna share more of these one-off games, why put a bullet into the London Series so fast (unless the interest was waning overall)? NBCU could’ve easily spun the people they think are brand loyal to the Premier League to watch those two games that sometimes resembles Rock & Jock Baseball, thanks to the dimensions of the soulless bowl (London Stadium). As for Richard W’s accurate concerns about next year’s Wild Card Series, unless that re-animated NBCSN ‘overflow channel’ is up and firing, it’ll probably be the best (read as: most like to get eyeballs) series NBC, the rest peacock. Those general interest daytime shows could (and should) be pre-empted for 2-3 days, but peacock will reap the benefits instead.
Richard W says:

10 months ago

Now, if this is all said and done and even true, will NBC be broadcasting all 12 of those WC games in three days time on their OTA affiliated channels? Right now, you have ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC locked in to do the WC round of games next week but with this new deal with NBCU, will NBC be airing every game in its entirety or will this be like a half NBC and half Peacock kind of a deal?! If NBC was to divest in all of these games, they’d have to start televising them at 10 AM CT and go all day and night for two straight days for certain and maybe for a third day, if I’m reading this correctly. Netflix is just picking and choosing from the allotment of games being made available or at their disposal, such as Opening Night and the FOD Game and the like. All this was manufacturerd by Manfred so he can get equal or a bit more money he was originally going to lose out on when ESPN opted out of the deal back in February and it’s only for three years though, so if true, he made out like a bandit and once 2028 arrives, all hands are on deck as to who gets what inventory at even more bloated up prices.
- Walt Gekko says:
  
  10 months ago
  
  NBC has since announced they are reviving NBCSN. We’re likely to see games there.
Roshan Singh says:

10 months ago

You forgot to mention Roku Package which now seems confirmed to move to Peacock/NBC.
Alan Gobbi says:

10 months ago

assuming the NFL goes ahead with the rumored Australian game as being played before the traditional Thursday Kickoff next season there is a good chance that game ends up on a streaming platform due to time differences between Melbourne and the USA