Netflix exec addresses MLB Opening Night criticism

Netflix’s MLB Opening Night broadcast had a lot going for it. The self-promotion was not one of those things, and the streamer seems to know it.

Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s head of sports, appeared on the Marchand Sports Media podcast with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand this week and conceded that the March Yankees-Giants broadcast at Oracle Park on March 25 might’ve gone too far in reminding viewers that they were watching something on Netflix.

Anyone who sat through the pregame show — which featured John Cena explaining the automatic ball-strike system as a tie-in for his Netflix movie, Bert Kreischer appearing shirtless in a kayak in McCovey Cove, a Stranger Things teaser on the set, and a Monday Night Raw promo 20 minutes into actual game coverage — already knew that.

“Maybe with Opening Night, we were across that line a little bit too much,” Spitzer said. “Maybe there were a few too many Netflix promos. But at the same time, I think we also listen to what the fans say. We do a ton of surveys, you know, before and after, and what that sentiment was, and I think overall it was incredibly positive.”

Netflix always improves on its debut live sports events, according to Spitzer, who pointed to the platform’s first Jake Paul fight, which bore little resemblance to the MMA events Netflix is producing now, and the first Christmas Day NFL game, which the platform has refined considerably since its debut.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done a global baseball game, so we’re learning,” Spitzer said. “… So, with all of it, we tell the league, and partners, and everyone we’re working with, the game is what matters, right? Fans are coming for the game.”

And when it comes to the game itself, our review of the broadcast described it as “promising, excessive, and occasionally a disaster.” There was genuinely good television in there, but the broadcast was ultimately undermined by a platform that hadn’t fully figured out where Netflix ended, and the baseball began.

“I think when you look at the talent we had with Elle Duncan, with Barry Bonds, with CC Sabathia, with Albert, to name a few — Hall of Famers, some of the greatest players of all time — I think we were really pleased with the event,” Spitzer said. “So now it’s just how do you calibrate, how do you get a little bit better each time you do it.”

If the NFL experience is any guide, Netflix will figure it out. The Christmas Day games got dramatically better in their second year. But maybe next time they can get through an event without Bert Kreischer taking off his shirt.