Major League Baseball’s opener was met with widespread criticism on Wednesday as fans came to realize the New York Yankees-San Francisco Giants game was being broadcast by Netflix rather than basic cable channels or national networks.
‘Netflix broadcasting a baseball game to the whole country in an absurd marketing stunt at the start of the MLB season,’ one critic wrote on X.
The streaming service’s exclusive coverage of MLB’s opener was used to promote several shows, including another season of Netflix’s Addams Family spinoff, Wednesday.
‘It was a bad decision to put the mlb opener on netflix,’ another added. ‘[For] the first time in thirty years I [don’t] get to see opening day. thanks guys.’
Like NFL and NBA fans, who have been pressed to add other subscription streaming services on top of expensive cable plans, baseball devotees were unhappy at the prospect of another monthly bill. Many simply refused to watch rather than pay for plans ranging from $7.99 to $24.99 per billing cycle.
‘Looking forward to NOT being able to watch my Giants play the Yanks on opening day tonight thanks to Netflix, despite paying the annual fee for the baseball app,’ one fan wrote on X, referring to MLB.TV’s $29.99 monthly plan. ‘MLB is just as bad as football. Gotta have like 4 diff streaming services if you wanna actually see all games.’
MLB’s opener was met with widespread criticism on Wednesday as scores of fans came to realize the New York Yankees-San Francisco Giants game was being streamed on Netflix
NFL quarterback and former Florida State pitcher Jameis Winston interviews New York Yankees slugger and Bay Area-native Aaron Judge during Netflix’s broadcast
‘I’ve paid for an @MLBTV subscription for over 15 years now,’ another added. ‘@MLB fans pay $150 per season for a subscription to @MLBTV. And now the regular season opener is exclusive to @netflix.’
That fan then took aim at commissioner Rob Manfred.
‘Hey Manfred,’ they wrote, ‘quit f***ing the fans.’
Others were not only upset by the added paywall, but the presence of the Yankees as well.
‘Boy the MLB sure knows what they’re doing,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘First, have the season opener on everybody’s favorite paid platform, Netflix.
‘Second, make sure the game features America’s favorite team, the New York Yankees.’
The complaints didn’t end there.
As is often the case when a network or streaming platform adds tries its hand at sports, fans were initially confused by the scorebug, the digital icon that displays the game’s pertinent details.
‘What on God’s green Earth is this Netflix scorebug,’ asked one fan of the icon at the bottom of the screen.
‘That Netflix scorebug is irritating me,’ another added.
Another critic seemed to have an issue with the minuscule pitch count at the bottom of the icon: ‘This scorebug has me squinting.’
Others offered some fairly technical suggestions.
‘Relax on the zoom with the cameras,’ read one suggestion. ‘Can’t see much of anything when the balls in play.’
Elle Duncan landed a joke about Jameis Winston’s 2014 arrest for shoplifting crab legs
Hosted by former ESPN broadcaster Elle Duncan, the Netflix pre-game show included Giants legend Barry Bonds, legendary St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, retired Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and CC Sabathia, the dominant former Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees pitcher.
But beyond the strictly baseball folks, the broadcast also included contributions from WWE legend John Cena, shirtless comedian Bert Kreischer and Jameis Winston, the NFL quarterback and former Florida State pitcher.
Interestingly, with Winston doing a segment from a seafood stand at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, Duncan cracked a joke about his 2014 arrest for shoplifting crab legs from a Tallahassee grocery store.
‘I’m gonna address the elephant in the room,’ Duncan told Winston. ‘Jameis, did you pay for the crab legs?’
Winston leaned into the joke.
‘I may or may not be plotting to find ways to get some fresh crab legs,’ he said, later adding: ‘Folks my history with crab legs.’
