Ratings Roundup: 2026 World Baseball Classic is Most-Watched Program Ever on Netflix in Japan, Largest Global Baseball Streaming Event Ever

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, ESPN sees second most-watched NCAA women's basketball second round ever with an average of 1 million viewers; Fanatics Flag Football delivered over 300 million viewers across all platforms; and more.

Red Sox Opener Was Largest-Streamed Game in NESN History

Red Sox opener the highest-streamed Sox game in NESN history 17.5% higher than the previous record, set last year on June 9 during Roman Anthony's debut, and 38% higher than opening day 2025. Additionally, subscriptions to NESN 360 surged to their highest level ever 10% higher than the previous mark.

Fanatics Flag Football Classic Delivers Over 300 Million Views Across All Platforms

The inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic produced by Fanatics Studios on Saturday, March 21, delivered an impressive reach during the first 24 hours of the event, generating over 300 million views across broadcast and all platforms.

The number accounts for reach from the FOX broadcast, Fanatics and FOX social channels, YouTube TV, and several streamers who were in attendance, including IShowSpeed, Marlon, Tota and Jay Cinco. When factoring in other social channels, the number will grow significantly when final data is shared next week.

In just 12 days, the event was quickly relocated from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles, and also added a new competitive format with the addition of Team USA flag football, who would go on to win the first-ever tournament. This global event also marked Tom Brady's first official return to the field since his 2023 retirement. Kevin Hart and Druski added colorful commentary as hosts and sideline reporter for both the draft and the game. Travis Scott performed a live DJ set during halftime.

ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched NCAA Women's Second Round Ever

ESPN delivered its second most-watched NCAA Women's Second Round on record, averaging 1.0M viewers across 16 games.

Up 3% YoY.

Through two rounds (First and Second), the 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament is averaging 628,000 viewers, the second-highest audience through this point since 2009 (fewer linear windows).

The Women's Tournament has amassed 3.3 billion total minutes viewed, marking the second most-consumed early rounds on record.

USC vs South Carolina

1.8 million viewers on ESPN

Fourth most-watched second round game on record

Peak: 2.0 million

Syracuse vs UConn

1.5 million viewers on ESPN

Seventh most-watched second round game on record

Peak: 1.7 million

Notre Dame vs Ohio State

1.5 million viewers on ESON

Eighth most-watched second round game on record

Peak: 1.7 million

UVA vs Iowa

1.4 million viewers on ESPN

Tenth most-watched second round game on recod

Peak: 1.9 million

2026 World Baseball Classic Becomes the Most-Watched Program Ever on Netflix in Japan and the Biggest Global Baseball Streaming Event Ever

The 2026 World Baseball Classic, for which Netflix held exclusive streaming rights in Japan, has set a historic record. The live stream of the Japan vs. Australia game is now the most-watched title ever on Netflix in Japan - surpassing every series, film, anime, and other sports program on the service.

Netflix's exclusive streaming of the global baseball tournament in Japan this year delivered the largest-ever streaming audience across all platforms worldwide and marked the most streamed baseball game ever.

This year's tournament saw widespread adoption of Netflix's uniquely flexible viewing styles - such as watching on smartphones and other mobile devices, catching up via on-demand replays, and expanding viewing beyond Japan's games to marquee matchups between other countries. It also introduced new forms of coverage using cutting-edge technologies, like volumetric video, dirt cameras, indoor drones, and Statcast, as well as pre-game and post-game shows produced right on the field. These innovations resonated strongly with a broad audience - particularly viewers under 35 and women - and, combined with the buzz on social media, helped establish a new sports-viewing culture across Japan: enjoying the games anytime, anywhere, at your own pace.

Kaata Sakamoto, who oversees Japan Content at Netflix, said: This tournament marked Netflix's successful entry into live sports streaming in Japan. I deeply admire the intense emotion and passionate drama both on and off the field. This major undertaking succeeded thanks to the dedicated staff, stakeholders, and over 100 partner companies and municipalities. We will leverage these results and learnings to continue delivering unique live experiences on Netflix.

In Japan, World Baseball Classic games on Netflix3 reached a total of 31.4M viewers. This figure includes live streams of all 47 games. The most-watched game, Japan vs. Australia, drew 17.9M viewers in Japan.

Throughout the tournament, 55% watched at least one non-Japan game4. The top three Japan games were Japan vs. Australia (17.9M), Japan vs. Korea (17.86M), and Japan vs. Venezuela (17.26M). For non-Japan matchups, the top three were United States vs. Venezuela, Australia vs. Korea, and United States vs. Canada.

For many in Japan, Samurai Japan was the entry point, and from there, they went on to explore teams from all 20 participating countries and regions, resulting in highly diverse viewing patterns.

An analysis combining TV viewing data from Video Research Ltd. with Netflix viewing data shows:

Viewers under 35 accounted for more than 30% of total viewership, with those aged 19 and under making up 14.2%.

48% of viewing came from female audiences aged 20 and over.

Netflix's coverage of the World Baseball Classic demonstrated a broad and diverse audience reaching a significant group of younger and female viewers.

Viewing took place on a

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/03/27/ratings-roundup-2026-world-base...
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