​The first Home Run Derby on Netflix was also the least-watched in over 20 years.Monday’s Home Run Derby drew just 5.3 million viewers on Netflix, marking the least-watched edition of the event since 2003, when the Derby earned 5.2 million viewers on ESPN, according to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. The audience for Jordan Walker’s win declined by 7 percent versus Cal Raleigh’s triumph last year, which aired on both ESPN and ESPN2 (5.73 million viewers). Notably, Netflix’s audience on Monday wasn’t too far off of the 2024 Home Run Derby, which drew 5.45 million viewers on ESPN and ESPN2.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe past three editions of the Home Run Derby have settled into a bit of a viewership slump as compared to prior years. Until 2024, the Home Run Derby had not fell under 6 million viewers since 2018. Now, the past three editions have all fell short of that mark.Of course, a drop off in viewership is to be expected when transitioning from a widely distributed channel like ESPN, where baseball fans are accustomed to watching games, to a streaming service like Netflix, airing its second-ever baseball telecast. For instance, Netflix secured 3 million viewers for its Opening Night telecast in March between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees but, the following night, NBC earned 3.2 million viewers for a slightly less sexy matchup featuring the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers.Even given the relative success Netflix has seen with its NFL broadcasts the past two years, there’s no doubt that those games would’ve drawn larger audiences on a network like Fox or ESPN.Per Karp, Netflix drew in a younger audience but lost viewers in the older demos. Without exact demographic figures, it’s unclear if the larger share of younger viewers is simply a function of losing older viewers, or if there was a genuine increase in younger viewers tuning in for the Derby.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEither way, it seems that interest in the Derby has simply fallen off in recent years. At a time when all sports properties seem to be seeing viewership increases on account of Nielsen’s methodological changes, any time an event ticks down versus prior years should raise an eyebrow.It’s fair to say, however, that MLB has much larger issues on its plate than losing a few percent of its Home Run Derby audience.The post Netflix earns smallest Home Run Derby audience since 2003 appeared first on Awful Announcing.