The New York Yankees’ Max Fried threw six scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park during the MLB Opening Night game on Netflix March 25. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos/Getty Images for Netflix)
April 2, 2026
Netflix’s first-ever live-streamed 2026 Major League Baseball season opener (March 25) between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants generated 2.96 million TV viewers across 1.7 million households, according to new data from Nielsen.
The tally was good enough for the 12th most-watched sports event in a week dominated by the NCAA March Madness College Basketball National Championship Tournament.
In fact, March Madness generated the 10 most-watched sports events in the week, followed by NBC Sports/Peacock’s “Sunday Night NBA basketball,” and Netflix’s MLB.
The Yankees, Giants game is part three exclusive MLB events Netflix licensed to stream globally, including the 2026 Home Run Derby on July 13 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and the “MLB at Field of Dreams” game on Aug. 13 in Dyersville, Iowa.
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