​In November 2025, less than a year after ESPN opted out of a long-standing broadcast relationship, Major League Baseball announced a $50 million, three-year deal with Netflix. The streaming platform had secured exclusive rights to several MLB events over the year and promoted the partnership as a way to bring baseball’s “cultural spectacles” to a global audience. Yet Netflix’s foray into an “eventized” version of America’s pastime drew a mix of reactions.
For “Netflix Opening Night,” a game pitting the San Francisco Giants against the New York Yankees scheduled for the night before each team’s season opener, viewers were treated to crowd-pleasing elements such as an elaborate pregame drone show and insights from legendary slugger Barry Bonds, a longtime media recluse. At the same time, certain broadcast choices departed from tradition, drawing criticism from fans and commentators on social media. A minimalist score bug that frequently disappeared from the screen proved irritating to many viewers. An in-game dugout interview between reporter Lauren Shehadi and Giants manager Tony Vitello occurred while the first-ever automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge happened off camera, forcing an awkward callback by the play-by-play team and provoking a social-media outcry.
“There are always moments in a live broadcast when timing isn’t perfect,” Shehadi told Forbes as she prepared for the derby broadcast in Philadelphia. “This was a first-time manager in his first game; it was an important interview, not something to be treated as a throwaway.” Matt Vasgersian, who acknowledged the mis-timing during the Opening Night broadcast in his role as play-by-play announcer and would reprise that role for the derby, explained that a technical issue contributed to the mishap. “The outcry wouldn’t have been nearly as intense if the element had fired properly on the telecast,” he said to Forbes in Philadelphia. “She could have continued with the interview or paused, and the element would have fired and explained what happened. She could have then wrapped up and carried on with the interview, but the element never appeared. Everyone in the truck was frustrated with the tech.”
Perhaps the most pointed criticism leveled at Netflix’s production team concerned the numerous commercial tie-ins for other Netflix programs. Anchor Elle Duncan indicated that promotions would be toned down, though not eliminated. “We heard feedback from fans about trying to wedge promos in for better SEO,” she noted, signaling Netflix’s intent to recalibrate how sponsorships and cross-promotions are integrated into the broadcast.