Major League Baseball’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby has a new home and a new format for 2026.
Netflix acquired the rights to the derby as part of a three-year deal with MLB worth $50 million annually that included Opening Night and the Field of Dreams Game on Aug. 13. Netflix also spent $100 million to secure exclusive rights to broadcast the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan.
T-Mobile, which includes Netflix as a benefit for many wireless customers, has an established relationship with the streamer, making the transition from ESPN a natural one for the company.
“We’ve had a multifaceted relationship with Netflix for some time,” said Mike Gendreau, T-Mobile director of sports sponsorships. “We had a great relationship with ESPN over the years, but we are eager to see how Netflix will bring this event to life for the first time. We’ve noticed what they have done for things like the NFL Christmas Day game. There’s always a little bit more of an entertainment flair, so that should be really fun for this event.”
For the streamer, it is another opportunity to provide subscribers with unique live content that appeals to casual fans and drives conversation (Netflix has also aired NFL and WWE content). It has run Home Run Derby advertising on X that directs to the T-Mobile website with a note that the event is included in all plans, which start at $8.99.
“The thing that they continue to do is they ‘eventize’ their programming. That’s their verb, and they’ve made good use of it,” said Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Sports, Entertainment and Media. “They were able to do that with the Giants-Yankees game on Opening Day, and I’m intrigued to see what they’re going to do with Home Run Derby. They’re going to try things out in baseball, and baseball distribution is ripe for innovation.”
The derby is switching from a timer-based format to a swing-based format in 2026, with the eight competitors getting 20 swings in Round 1 and 15 swings in each of the final two rounds. If a competitor homers on his final swing in any round, though, he keeps going until he doesn’t homer.
Netflix was criticized during its Opening Night broadcast for doing too much cross-promotion, frustrating fans who just wanted to watch the first baseball game over what is a six-month marathon.
“I would argue that the Home Run Derby and Field of Dreams game are more natural showcase events that can better receive nontraditional coverage,” said William Mao, Octagon senior vice president of media rights consulting. “Not being confined to a strict broadcast time frame on Netflix provides the platform and MLB greater runway for creative storytelling in and around the Home Run Derby. The fact that this year’s competition returns to a no-clock format is also a nod to the ‘infinite live window’ opportunity provided by Netflix.”
All of Netflix’s sports programming provides the streamer with “year-round Tier 1 live sports touchpoints that should keep existing subscribers stickier and hopefully draw in new users as well,” Mao added.
Even with those innovations, the derby may not require wholesale changes.
“I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel much,” Matt Vasgersian, who is handling the play-by-play duties, said on the SBJ Sports Media Podcast. “I know that Netflix has some ideas and some surprises in store. In fact, they’re such big surprises, I don’t even know them yet.”
Last year, the Home Run Derby drew 5.72 million viewers on ESPN, up 5% from 2024 (5.45 million) but still down 7% from 2023 (6.11 million).
“While there may not have been as much traditional promotion of the derby being on Netflix in the lead-up — though I’ve seen some advertising and trailers — having the event splashed front and center on Netflix’s homepage the day of should, in and of itself, drive material click-through,” Mao said.
