Fans of Major League Baseball wanted to watch baseball on MLB Opening Night but Netflix had other plans. The on-demand video streaming provider created an over-the-top spectacle that wasn’t necessary.
Just play the game!
Fans of MLB were forced to sit through a lengthy pregame ceremony before the first pitch finally got underway. ESPN took the opportunity to take a subtle jab at its competitor.
MLB Opening Day received mixed reviews.
The New York Yankees traveled west to play the San Francisco Giants in the first game of the 2026 Major League Baseball season on Wednesday night. It was a 7-0 blowout.
Although the game itself was not super entertaining, Netflix did a pretty good job with its broadcast. Matt Vasgersian did a good job as the play-by-play analyst in the booth alongside two MLB legends CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence. They were topical, analytical and insightful— even though the score forced them to get creative. The scorebug was easy to understand. The graphics package was not distracting.
And, most importantly, the stream actually worked! The picture was clear throughout the majority of the broadcast and it did not buffer.
However, Netflix turned the baseball game into something much bigger than it needed to be.
The pregame show felt like it was one giant advertisement. The desk, which featured Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo, was actually pretty good. But most of the pregame broadcast focused on other shows on Netflix. Every segment started and/or ended with a promotion.
Thing from the Addams Family skated its way around the ballpark to promote a Netflix show.
Even the best parts about America’s pastime were commoditized, like McCovey Cove.
To make matters worse, the game did not start on time. Between the starting lineups, which were announced by Bert Kreischer (a Netflix plug), and a first pitch by a WWE superstar (another Netflix plug), the pregame ceremony ran long.
ESPN took a potshot at Netflix.
It is not uncommon for a sporting event to start after the scheduled start time. NBC, ESPN, Fox, etc. They’re all guilty of it.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 but it actually gets underway closer to 7:20 after the national anthem and plenty of commercials.
This is especially true for big games that air in their own individual time slot. The broadcast partner knows it has the full attention of the audience because nothing else is on T.V. It can drag the viewers along for as long as it can before it becomes egregious. There is no way to avoid it.
That was true for MLB Opening Night on Netflix. First pitch was allegedly scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET. It did not get underway until closer to 8:20.
ESPN, which got out-bid for the rights to the first game of the Major League Baseball season, made sure to let viewers know the game was running late. I received the following notification around 8:07 p.m. ET:
Game Delay: NYY – SF
Yankees at Giants has been delayed
Never once have I received a notification of this nature from ESPN for the Super Bowl or, say, the World Series. I have never received this notification for a delay that is unrelated to weather or outside factors.
This was the first time I have received a Game Delay notification because the broadcast ran long. Petty!