Netflix had the honor of covering Opening Night for the 2026 MLB season. Although fans of the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants were fired up to watch this game, they didn't exactly love Netflix's product.
For starters, MLB fans had a huge issue with Netflix's scorebug for Wednesday night's season opener. They also couldn't believe the first ever ABS challenge occurred during an in-game interview with Giants manager Tony Vitello.
"Showing a mid-game interview instead of the first ever ABS challenge in Major League history shoutout Netflix, worst in the game," one fan said.
"Does Netflix realize that there's a baseball game going on? How many interviews are they going to do?" another fan asked.
© Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images.
Netflix's pregame show didn't receive a ton of love either. Even though former MLB stars Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo were part of the broadcast, Awful Announcing pointed out there was way too much advertising going on.
"The picture quality? Second to none. But there was also a ton of cross-promotion to remind baseball fans of all the other things you can see on Netflix, in addition to the commercials on the pregame show, which were largely focused on Netflix programming," Awful Announcing's Matt Yoder wrote. "The streamer also baked in plenty of crossover opportunities into its coverage."
Does Netflix have any other MLB events this season?
Believe it or not, the Yankees-Giants game wasn't the only event Netflix received in its three-year deal with the MLB.
Netflix is also set to stream the Home Run Derby this July. Additionally, Netflix has the rights to the annual Field of Dreams game.
Suffice to say, Netflix is here to stay regardless if baseball fans like it or not.
