Netflix’s first swing at the Home Run Derby did not exactly knock it out of the park.
According to Sports Business Journal, the streamer drew 5.3 million viewers for the event, which made it the Derby’s smallest audience since 2003. The report notes that the total was down roughly 7% from the 5.7 million ESPN and ESPN2 pulled in last year, and down 4% from the 5.5 million who tuned in two years ago. The audience skewed younger, even though that meant giving up some older viewers along the way. Netflix says the median viewer’s age was 44.3 years old, making it the youngest for the event since 2014.
On the surface, the reported results were likely not what Netflix was hoping for when it took its first cut at one of baseball’s marquee events. After all, the company pulled in 3 million viewers for its MLB Opening Night debut in March, giving it a solid early foothold in live sports. That game delivered the youngest Opening Day audience in a decade and generated 200 million owned global social impressions and 6 million engagements.
Netflix’s live-event strategy is evolving, and the streaming behemoth is no longer treating sports as a side hustle. More baseball is coming next month with the 2026 Fields of Dreams Game on Thursday, August 13. The Minnesota Twins will take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a cinematic clash in Dyersville, Iowa. The game will feature a personality-driven broadcast, including Elle Duncan, Barry Bonds, CC Sabathia, Hunter Pence, Anthony Rizzo, Matt Vasgersian, and Lauren Shehadi.
Last month, Duncan noted that she was hopeful that Netflix could bring the film’s star, Kevin Costner, back into the picture for the nostalgic event. Costner’s original walk through the cornfield during MLB’s 2021 Field of Dreams Game remains one of the most iconic pregame moments in modern baseball. Recreating that magic would be a home run for the world’s largest paid subscription video-on-demand streaming service.
