The World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals are set to begin soon, with Japan's national team poised to compete against Venezuela. Notably, the exclusive broadcast rights in Japan have been acquired by Netflix, meaning fans will miss watching stars like Shohei Ohtani through traditional television broadcasts. This exclusivity exemplifies the rising trend of sports being consumed primarily through streaming services, raising questions about the future of live sports broadcasting in Japan.

Netflix's foray into sports broadcasting marks a significant milestone, as this will be the company's first sustained attempt to livestream a major sports event outside the U.S. over a two-week period. Although Netflix has only recently ventured into sports broadcasting, it previously set records with a boxing match that garnered over 100 million viewers in November 2024. However, while the U.S. has a well-established infrastructure for pay-per-view sports, Japan's market is still adapting to this model, presenting both challenges and opportunities for Netflix in securing a foothold in the live sports arena.

Scholars note that the U.S. market's acceptance of paid sports viewing significantly lowers barriers compared to Japan, where viewers are accustomed to different consumption patterns. With competitors like Amazon and Apple making inroads into this space, the landscape for sports broadcasting is evolving rapidly. However, this could lead to fragmentation, as viewers may feel overwhelmed by the variety of platforms available for accessing sports content, creating a reliance on services like Netflix to consolidate their options under one umbrella despite the higher costs involved.