Wednesday night might not have been that much different than an average weeknight for baseball fans. They put on sweatpants, grabbed a snack, made the dog get off the couch, and settled in to watch Netflix.
The difference, though, was that they watched baseball instead of binging a TV show or sitting through a movie. Netflix began the 2026 MLB season by airing the Yankees’ 7–0 Opening Night victory over the Giants. Although Aaron Judge went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, the Yankees rode a five-run second inning and a masterful performance from ace Max Fried en route to an easy road victory.
Social media users were divided about the Netflix broadcast, and understandably so. Some loved the announcing and commentary, while others focused more on the presentation and an overreliance on promoting its own programming. Did you know that John Cena has a new movie coming out? We do now.
Having had some time to reflect on Wednesday’s game, now feels like a perfect time to analyze and grade Netflix’s MLB debut. For this list, I’ve identified three core elements to grade: performance, presentation, and studio/commentary. I want to stress that these are my personal grades based on my own experience.
Performance: A+
The most important part is that Netflix never had a widespread crash or outage, which alone warrants at least an A. I also didn’t run into lag, either while watching in the living room or when I switched to my bedroom TV.
I can only speak for myself, but I briefly had a couple instances where the picture quality dipped. With that said, the issues fixed themselves quickly, and it didn’t ruin the game itself. I’m good giving Netflix an A+ here.
Presentation: D
Well, let’s start with the good. Netflix at least did the bare minimum, providing viewers with a scorebug that clearly showed the score and didn’t take up too much of the stream. I was also glad that we didn’t see the scoreboard littered with ads for upcoming Netflix shows or events.
However, the scorebug itself was extremely disappointing, and that’s being kind. The ball-strike count was way too small, as was the pitch count and batter information. I won’t take points off for failing to provide viewers with a display of how many challenges a team has left, since we’re yet to see whether local and national broadcasters plan to incorporate something along those lines. Think about when you’re watching an NFL game, and it tells you how many timeouts a team has.
Viewers also flagged poor lighting in the early innings, though I don’t know how much of that came from however they were watching the game. I have no complaints about the lighting, and I liked the cameras.
I think we all assumed going in that Netflix would use its platform to promote upcoming events, but Wednesday’s pregame show alone was absurdly egregious. Did we need Bert Kreischer to be a mainstay on our screens? I’d never even heard of Bert Kreischer last night, and I’m not really interested in checking out his content. If they really wanted to advertise “Free Bert,” then have Kreischer show up for a half inning and be done with it.
yeah cause we all want to see Bert Kreischer drink instead of the actual game pic.twitter.com/DPzn95hoVg
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) March 26, 2026
Netflix’s dedication to informing viewers about its extensive library pushed first pitch back to 8:25 p.m. ET, significantly later than the promised 8 p.m. ET start. I’d have shrugged off first pitch coming at 8:10 given the Opening Day festivities, but 8:25 was unacceptable.
But, nothing was worse than Netflix missing the first regular-season ABS challenge in MLB history because they were too busy showing sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi interviewing Giants manager Tony Vitello. That failure isn’t on Shehadi, who was simply doing her job. Instead, this falls on anyone in a production truck or a supervisory position as it related to capturing the on-field action.
Netflix should have known better and, if they were going to interview the manager during the game, then they should have tried talking to the manager between innings or mic’d them up so they could talk during the inning.
Initially, I intended to give Netflix a C- as my good deed of the month. But the flaws were so strong that even awarding Netflix a D+ feels generous. I’m giving them a D, and NBC better hope that it does better on Sunday night.
Studio/Commentary: B+
Honestly, someone can make an argument that the studio and commentary teams deserve an A- or higher, and I’d have no problem with that score. I thought the studio group of Elle Duncan, Albert Pujols, Anthony Rizzo, and special guest Barry Bonds was phenomenal. Rizzo and Pujols have always been savvy baseball minds, and Bonds offered a refreshing candidness. Duncan did an excellent job as the host and moderator, too.
Perhaps my favorite part of the studio team was that it never veered into the negativity that “Inside the NBA” is known for, nor did it escalate into an insufferable, loud party like Amazon Prime’s NFL coverage. The foursome struck a balanced tone and focused on the game and season ahead. I suggest that Prime learn from Netflix ahead of the 2026 NFL season, because Kirk Herbstreit is the only reason to even watch those games with the sound on.
Speaking of announcers, I enjoyed the trio of Matt Vasgersian, Hunter Pence, and CC Sabathia. Vasgersian is a pro’s pro, and Netflix should be commended for choosing an established, well-respected play-by-play voice to call balls and strikes on Opening Night. It would have been extremely easy for Netflix to find someone cheap or opt for someone who wouldn’t be an ideal fit for a game of this magnitude.
Pence and Sabathia were fine, and it was clear from the jump that both felt comfortable. I thought the highlight was when Vasgersian accidentally said “Brandon Webb” when talking about Giants pitcher Logan Webb, and Pence did a double take. Brandon Webb, for those a little too young, was a Cy Young-winning pitcher for the Diamondbacks in the late 2000s. To his credit, Vasgersian poked fun at his error a couple of pitches later. This was an instance of someone misspeaking rather than making a blatant error, and I loved Vasgersian and Pence’s reactions. We’ve all been there.
Final grade: C+
I want to give Netflix a C, solely for how poorly it handled the overall presentation, but that feels unfair. As I’ve said before, I typically watch games with the sound off now, but I made an exception on Wednesday night, partly to see how Netflix planned to handle the pressure. In the end, I came away pleased — or, at least, I didn’t hate the final product.
The good news for Netflix is that it won’t air another regular-season game until August, so there is plenty of time to iron out the kinks. Again, I suggest changing the sideline reporting and interviewing format, and I urge Netflix to see if there’s a way to make its advertising more bearable. But in the end, this could have gone far worse, and that alone is excellent news for Major League Baseball.