In April, I gave Netflix a hard time for its mishandling of Major League Baseball’s “Opening Night” game. And that was before the abomination — three-parts Netflix advertising event and one-part baseball game — even happened. (Some weeks later, I shared my unsolicited opinion of the spectacle with least one very high-ranking Netflix senior executive. That may have likewise been a misstep.)
On Monday, Netflix gets its next MLB at-bat with the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Even a home run of its own, production-wise, would not make up for “MLB Opening Night,” but more tact would be a nice tip of the cap to baseball fans.
Back on March 25 on Netflix exclusively, the New York Yankees pounded the home team San Francisco Giants 7-0. I was thrilled with the outcome of the game, but appalled by everything but the on-field action. “MLB Opening Night” featured too much Bert Kreischer (shirtless, of course), goofy player entrances flanked by dancers and vehicles most associated with the teams’ respective cities (yellow cabs for New York and a trolley for San Francisco), and John Cena plugging his new Netflix film under the guise of explaining ABS (Automated Ball-Strike).
It was one big Netflix ad with some baseball mixed in. After much criticism, even Netflix copped to its mistake.
