By the time the Phillies and Twins took the field in Iowa, there was one thing missing from the Field of Dreams: the viewers.
Major League Baseball brought its beloved Field of Dreams Game back to Dyersville, Iowa, for the first time since 2022. The matchup had plenty going for it: the Philadelphia Phillies, the Minnesota Twins, Kyle Schwarber launching baseballs into the Iowa sky, retro uniforms, cornfields and, of course, the eternal possibility that Kevin Costner might appear and tell someone to play catch.
Instead, the biggest number associated with the game was the number of people who apparently couldn’t find it.
According to Nielsen data reported by the Associated Press, the 2026 Field of Dreams Game averaged just 1.66 million viewers on Netflix.
That is a pretty dramatic drop from the previous Field of Dreams games.
The 2022 Field of Dreams Game averaged more than 3.1 million viewers, while the inaugural 2021 game between the Yankees and White Sox was an absolute television monster, drawing 5.9 million viewers. That 2021 game was the most-watched regular-season MLB game on any network since 2005.
So let’s do some quick math before the baseball starts getting emotional.
The 2026 game attracted roughly 47% fewer viewers than the 2022 game and about 72% fewer viewers than the original 2021 game.
That’s not a decline.
That’s a disappearing act.
So… What Happened?
There are several reasons, but the most obvious one is sitting on everyone’s television remote:
Netflix.
The 2026 Field of Dreams Game wasn’t on FOX, ESPN, TBS, MLB Network or NBC.
It was exclusively on Netflix.
MLB’s new media-rights agreement with Netflix gave the streaming giant exclusive rights to the 2026 Field of Dreams Game, along with MLB’s Opening Night game and the Home Run Derby. MLB announced the three-year agreement as part of its new media-rights structure.
And here’s the problem:
A Field of Dreams Game is supposed to be an event that casual sports fans stumble into.
That’s part of what made the original so successful.
You didn’t need to be a diehard baseball fan. You didn’t need MLB.TV. You didn’t need to know what channel the game was on.
You turned on the television, saw baseball being played in a cornfield and thought, “Well, I guess I’m watching this.”
Netflix changes that.
If you don’t already have Netflix, you’re not accidentally watching the Field of Dreams Game.
You’re not channel surfing into it.
You’re not sitting in a bar and seeing it on the big screen.
You’re not at your parents’ house and stumbling across it.
You have to know it’s happening, have Netflix, and intentionally open the app.
That’s a pretty significant barrier for an event whose entire appeal is built around nostalgia and casual fans.
The Paywall Problem Is Real
To be clear, Netflix subscribers didn’t have to pay an additional fee to watch the game. The game was included with Netflix’s regular subscription plans.
But from the perspective of the average sports fan, “You need a Netflix subscription” is still a paywall.
And MLB picked one of its most accessible, nostalgia-driven events to put behind it.
That’s a little like putting a velvet rope in front of a lemonade stand.
The Field of Dreams Game is not supposed to feel exclusive.
It’s supposed to feel like baseball has temporarily escaped from the television and landed in a cornfield.
Instead, MLB essentially said:
“If you want to see the corn, please enter your Netflix password.”
Compare That With 2021
The first Field of Dreams Game was almost the perfect storm.
The Yankees and White Sox were playing in one of the most unique venues in sports. The movie was iconic. Kevin Costner was involved. Baseball was coming off the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. And, most importantly, the game was available to a massive television audience.
5.9 million people watched.
The game became a genuine pop-culture moment.
When Tim Anderson hit the walk-off home run, it wasn’t just baseball fans watching.
It felt like everybody was watching.
Four years later, MLB returned to Iowa and drew 1.66 million viewers.
That’s less than one-third of the audience from the original game.
But Netflix Isn’t Entirely to Blame
This is where things get interesting.
It would be easy to say:
“Netflix killed the Field of Dreams Game.”
And while the streaming paywall clearly didn’t help, that’s probably too simplistic.
The actual game wasn’t particularly competitive.
Philadelphia beat Minnesota 7-1, with Kyle Schwarber hitting two home runs.
A seven-run Phillies victory isn’t exactly the recipe for a thrilling national television event.
The novelty of the Field of Dreams concept may also have worn off.
In 2021, MLB was doing something that had never been done before.
Players were literally walking out of a cornfield.
The field itself was a spectacle.
The league had created a moment.
By 2026, we’ve already seen it.
And while the Field of Dreams remains incredibly cool, the shock factor isn’t quite the same.
There is also a larger problem facing sports television: sports fans are increasingly being asked to subscribe to multiple streaming services just to watch the things they care about.
Netflix, Peacock, ESPN, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and other platforms have all become part of the sports-viewing ecosystem.
At some point, fans aren’t asking, “What time is the game?”
They’re asking:
“Which password do I need tonight?”
MLB Has a Chance to Fix It
Interestingly, MLB won’t have to wait long to test whether Netflix was the problem.
The 2027 Field of Dreams Game will move to NBC, with the Boston Red Sox facing the Kansas City Royals.
That will give us a pretty fascinating comparison.
Same concept.
Same cornfields.
Different network.
If the audience suddenly jumps back toward the numbers we’ve seen from previous Field of Dreams games, MLB will have some pretty compelling evidence that putting the event behind a streaming subscription was a mistake.
If the numbers remain low?
Well, then MLB has a much bigger problem.
Because at that point, you can’t blame the password.
The Field of Dreams Should Be About Getting People Into Baseball
There is nothing wrong with Netflix wanting exclusive sports content.
There is nothing wrong with MLB wanting to maximize the value of its media rights.
And there is nothing inherently wrong with streaming.
But the Field of Dreams Game is different.
It’s a marketing event disguised as a baseball game.
It’s designed to attract people who might not otherwise watch baseball.
And that’s exactly why putting it behind a streaming subscription feels so counterproductive.
The goal should be to make someone who doesn’t care about the Phillies or Twins say:
“Wait… they’re playing baseball in a cornfield tonight?”
Then you want them to turn on the television.
Not download an app.
Not search for their password.
Not ask their friend if they can borrow a Netflix account.
Just turn on the TV.
Because the whole point of the Field of Dreams is that if you build it, they will come.
In 2026, MLB built it.
Unfortunately, it appears a lot of people couldn’t get past the login screen.
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