Netflix Jumps Into Baseball Live! Signing a three-year broadcasting rights contract with MLB
Nov 20, 2025
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The Major League Baseball Secretariat announced on the 20th (Korea time) that it has signed a three-year new media broadcasting rights contract with Netflix, NBCUniversal, and ESPN.
What stands out the most is Netflix. Netflix, a global OTT company based in the United States, will also broadcast Major League Baseball. Netflix will broadcast the Major League Baseball opener exclusively during the contract period, and broadcast special event games including the All-Star Game Home Run Derby, the 2026 'MLB at Field of Dreams' and the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Netflix's entry into the baseball market began with an exclusive broadcast in Japan of the WBC, which will be held in March next year. It has already been rumored that Netflix is interested in sports broadcasting, especially baseball broadcasting. Interest in the national baseball team in Japan is at the highest level ever, winning the WBC title in 2023. If Japan's best baseball stars, led by Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (L.A. Dodgers), are all out, the value of the tournament will inevitably soar further.
However, due to the atmosphere of conservative Japanese society, there were also tremendous voices of opposition. When Netflix said it would broadcast an exclusive live broadcast of WBC in Japan next year, fans protested, "'It's nonsense to have to watch a live baseball broadcast for a fee.'" In addition, NPB club officials and players' associations even made a statement against Netflix's paid broadcasting.
Under these circumstances, Netflix's appearance on Major League broadcasting also means a full-fledged move.
Netflix exclusively broadcasts the opening game and some event games, and 'ESPN'MLB, which is a member of the MLB Secretariat.In addition to 'TV', 'NBC' acquired the right to broadcast midweek games, and 'NBC' acquired the right to broadcast Sunday night games (Sunday Night) and all wild-card series.
This is the first time that 'Netflix', which has produced only baseball-related documentaries, has been broadcast live. With this, 'Netflix' will run down next year's opening game, the San Francisco Giants-New York Yankees game against the New York Yankees on March 26, and the Philadelphia Phillies-Minnesota Twins game on August 14. Netflix's broadcasting rights contract period is from 2026 to 2028.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred "This new media broadcasting rights contract seems to be a great opportunity to deliver Major League Baseball to more fans through three powerful media: live sports, entertainment, and major events. We will continue to accelerate the growth of key indicators such as ratings, audience mobilization, and SNS" he said.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
