Netflix’s exclusive WBC broadcasting deal in Japan
1.The stated purpose of the World Baseball Classic is to grow and promote the game globally. But in Japan, there’s concern that MLB’s partnership with Netflix to exclusively air the games in the baseball-crazed country will ultimately lead to a major dip in how many people watch the tournament.
2.Japanese fans are used to watching their national team’s games on free-to-air national outlets — and they have proven tremendously popular, with reports stating that nearly 100 million of the 125 million people in the country watched at least some of the WBC in 2023, when it was broadcast on various national outlets.
3.MLB owns and operates the tournament, meaning they made the choice to partner with Netflix, in a nation where subscriber services are unusual for sports. As a result, many expect that the move to Netflix will have a dramatic impact on interest in a country not used to paying to watch its national team’s games.
・Did you catch the WBC game? How was it?
・Is there any difference in the level of excitement in Japan between the 2023 and 2026 WBC?
4.“Without terrestrial coverage, the overall national excitement around the WBC may become more limited, which may reduce the tournament’s mass appeal,” said Nobby Ito, executive advisor for the Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner; a league that notably has no official say in broadcast partnerships.
5.Ito is also a Japanese baseball historian, and has coordinated with MLB on past projects. “I believe in (MLB commissioner) Rob Manfred because it sounds like his top priority is the fans,” Ito said. “If that is the case, I hope he will make a good judgement on this issue before the next WBC.”
6.While viewership data has not yet been made public, Ito is not alone in his concern. Subscription services in the United States are ubiquitous. However, that is not the case in Japan, where residents are used to consuming such content at no cost.
・Which streaming platform, like Amazon Prime or Netflix, do you prefer? What was the deciding factor for your subscription?
・The text mentions that subscription services are “ubiquitous” in the US but not in Japan. Why do you think Japanese viewers are more resistant to paying for content compared to Americans?
7.The Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun reported in December 2024 that Japan, which has a population of more than 125 million people, has roughly 10 million Netflix subscribers.
8.In August 2025, MLB announced the partnership with Netflix for exclusive broadcast rights in Japan, and a league source told The Athletic it believes the decision will help grow the game. But many here believe it might only grow Netflix’s subscriber base, with many other residents choosing not to watch the tournament.
9.“Most people are not used to Netflix,” said Taro Abe, a Japanese journalist of more than two decades for the paper Chunichi Shimbun. “In Japan, television is free for a long time. Some people are used to subscriptions. But older people are not. I think it’s just Japanese culture. The Internet, TV, it’s for free, not subscriptions. … That’s why I think there’s a Netflix problem here.
・What kind of exclusive content would convince you to choose Netflix over other platforms? And would you cancel your subscription once that specific content ends?
・The league believes this deal will “grow the game,” but critics say it will only “grow Netflix’s subscriber base.” Which side do you agree with more, and why?