Netflix Bolsters Live Streaming With Splashy WBC, BTS Events

Netflix Inc.’s push into livestreaming mega events in Asia is set to accelerate, buoyed by hits from the World Baseball Classic to BTS’s comeback show that drew in waves of new, younger viewers. Bloomberg's Geetha Ranganathan joins to discuss Netflix as well as the recent news from Disney. Netflix Inc.’s push into livestreaming mega events in Asia is set to accelerate, buoyed by hits from the World Baseball Classic to BTS’s comeback show that drew in waves of new, younger viewers.

Viewership for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, streamed exclusively on Netflix in Japan, hit a record 31.4 million over the two-week tournament, the company said in a statement. BTS The Comeback Live | ARIRANG, staged at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Saturday evening, drew 18.4 million viewers globally, becoming Netflix’s most-watched title last week and the No. 1 show in 24 countries.

A key goal for the streaming giant is to have more so-called “eventized moments” which bring users onto their service, Minyoung Kim, Vice President, Content for Asia (ex-India), said in an interview.  “When they come, we’ll have a great slate of our existing shows and they will discover these shows, motivating them to stay on our service,” Kim said. “At the same time, we are providing another form of entertainment to our existing members.”

Netflix’s evolving strategy is to use live programming to stand out in a crowded streaming market, where local platforms dominate rights to regular sports seasons. The company has been investing in infrastructure and production capabilities to support such live events in Asia. Asia became the first region outside the US to debut Netflix’s live streaming programming, underscoring the growing global clout of content from the region. Netflix will continue to anchor its live programming around two key pillars — live events and sports entertainment, Kim said, adding that “a lot of exciting projects” are under development.

The effort has delivered increasingly large audiences for Netflix and generated social buzz around the event. The WBC match between Japan and Australia drew 17.9 million viewers in Japan, becoming the most-watched title ever on the platform in the country by total views. Data shows the baseball event broadened its audience base, drawing in more younger and more female viewers, according to Netflix.

“The WBC helped us add a lot of viewers — first-time users on Netflix,” Kim said. While BTS’s heavily promoted concert drew a smaller live crowd than initially expected — likely due to strict crowd-control measures — the show gained massive online traction, generating 2.62 billion social reactions across Netflix channels alone. Earlier this year, its live stream of Alex Honnold’s climb of the Taipei 101 skyscraper in January drew about 6.2 million viewers, attracting total 11.5 million views.

Netflix’s expansion into live programming in Asia follows US events that drew tens of millions of viewers. In 2024, the live stream of the NFL Ravens–Texans game peaked at more than 27 million US viewers, according to ratings from Nielsen, with Beyoncé performing at the half-time show. The platform’s biggest success to date remains the 2024 boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which Netflix said reached about 65 million viewers globally.

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