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Can Netflix Be Big in Japan?

The streaming giant used the World Baseball Classic’s huge Japanese audience to test live sports, while MLB gained a deep-pocketed streaming partner ahead of its 2028 rights talks.

Shohei Ohtani
It’s easy to see why Netflix would be interested in being the only stop for the WBC in Japan, which won the most recent WBC title, in 2023, on the back of global baseball megastar Shohei Ohtani. Photo: Rich Storry/Getty Images
John Ourand
March 16, 2026

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Last spring, just weeks after ESPN opted out of its MLB deal, league officials picked up the phone and called Netflix. The timing was crucial. MLB, which will bring all of its media rights packages to market in 2028, had just been publicly jilted by a broadcast partner of more than 30 years. Getting a show of interest from the biggest streaming platform in the world would be, in addition to potentially lucrative, a signal that the sport we used to call America’s pastime can still command premium value.