Netflix recorded significant qualitative gains for its first-ever coverage of the MLB Home Run Derby, but failed to match the viewership for the event traditionally seen on linear television.
The streaming giant said Thursday it averaged 5.3 million viewers for the league’s home run contest earlier this week in Philadelphia, won in dramatic fashion by the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker. That figure is down 7.5% from the average audience of 5.73 million viewers for last year’s Home Run Derby, aired on ESPN and ESPN2.
The latest total is also the smallest for the Home Run Derby since 2003. Like many other sports events that have migrated to streaming, there was a predictable round of complaints Monday from fans having trouble accessing the coverage.
Still, Netflix said it generated the youngest Home Run Derby audience since 2014 with a median viewer age of 44.3 years old, as well as the event’s best ratings among groups aged 18-34 and 18-49 since 2021.
Late Thursday’s release of the Home Run Derby viewership number was delayed well beyond an originally planned release that morning, when industry sources then said Netflix was experiencing data-related issues with Nielsen. Ultimately, the data followed Fox’s much-stronger numbers for Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game.
