The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season is just over one week old. Still, with a large number of clubs switching around their regional sports networks – either under MLB’s umbrella or launching their own – it’s never too early to take a look at viewership trends.
It wasn’t until Opening Day that fans of the Reds, Rays, Marlins, Brewers, Mariners, Tigers, Nationals, Cardinals, Royals, and Braves knew where to find them on the channel listings as the fallout from the Main Street Sports bankruptcy, the ability for the Nationals to get out from under MASN, and the Mariners shuttering ROOT Sports NW, impacted television providers.
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So, too, has MLB rolled out additional partners at the national level. Now, fans have streaming partners in the likes of Netflix, Apple, and Peacock, as well as having games on NBC, FOX, FS1, TBS, TNT, ABC, ESPN, and MLB Network.
Across the regional sports networks that support the 29 U.S. clubs through Sunday, March 29, the games for the start of the 2026 season are down slightly (-2%) compared to the same number of games in 2025, according to Nielsen NSI.
Of those, 15 of the 29 teams saw increases. The largest gains coming from the Dodgers (+307%), Angels (+196%), and Cubs (+180%). Last season, both the Dodgers and Cubs opened in Japan. However, when adjusted to comparable domestic openers, they were still up +10% and +64%, respectively, and tracking above two seasons ago.
Other clubs that saw increases included:
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Detroit Tigers, 3 gm avg, +41%
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Los Angeles Angels, 3 gm avg, +140%
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Chicago Cubs, 3 gm avg, +50%
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Boston Red Sox, 3 gm avg, +38%
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Miami Marlins, 3 gm avg, +12%
“With a broader sample size, we clearly expect ratings on linear and streaming growth to be substantive this year, especially on the direct-to-consumer growth pattern,” said Craig Sloan, CEO of PlayFly Sports.
For national broadcasts, Netflix, which landed the exclusive single game on Opening Night between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, drew 2.968 million viewers, making it the most-viewed Opening Night or Opening Day since the 2020 pandemic-shortened season. It was also robust when compared to other jewel events by other sports via streaming:
Broadcasts of Major League Baseball in the first week of the 2026 season have been robust. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Those rosy numbers were followed up the next day with the return of MLB to NBC.
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The nationally televised game between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers on Opening Day, Thursday, averaged 2.739 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
For the week of 3/23-3/29, going up against NCAA March Madness basketball, MLB had four of the top 25 sports broadcasts by viewership.
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#12 – Yankees vs. Giants (Netflix)
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#15 – Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks (NBC)
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#16 – Yankees vs. Giants (FOX – avg 2.591 million)
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#24 – Pirates vs Mets (NBC – avg 2.062 million)
So, what is going to drive interest in MLB over the course of not just the early season, but through to the postseason? Several factors are in play.
The league was gifted with an exciting and widely watched World Baseball Classic just before the start of the MLB regular season.
Large-market teams, such as the back-to-back World Series Champion Dodgers, as well as the Yankees, Mets, and possibly the Cubs, are likely to be contenting all season long, which will drive interest not only in those markets, but nationally.
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After years of stars missing baseball’s biggest stage, 2026 is likely to see the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and more in battling through the regular season and into the postseason.
And finally, you can’t deny that there is increased interest in yet another rule change, this time with the Automatic Balls and Strikes (ABS) challenge system, in which pitchers, batters, and catchers can challenge an umpire’s call on balls and strikes.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com