Elle Duncan will host Netflix’s baseball coverage when it launches this spring, officially confirming what’s been assumed since the streaming service announced her as its first sports hire back in December.
Duncan’s agent, Matt Olson, recently told the Sports Business Journal’s Richard Deitsch that Duncan will host Netflix’s Opening Night game and the Home Run Derby. She’s also slated for prominent roles in the streamer’s future NFL coverage and FIFA Women’s World Cup broadcasts in 2027.
Between Netflix, NBC, and ESPN’s new rights packages, there’s been minimal movement beyond NBC bringing back Bob Costas to host Sunday Night Baseball pregame shows and David Cone departing ESPN’s lead booth. Networks are still filling out their broadcast teams with Opening Day less than two months away.
Duncan left ESPN in December after nearly a decade at the network, where she anchored SportsCenter and became the face of the network’s women’s basketball coverage. She makes her Netflix debut Thursday, hosting “Skyscraper Live,” where free solo climber Alex Honnold will attempt to scale Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
Netflix’s baseball package includes Opening Night — the day before the traditional Opening Day slate — the Home Run Derby, and the “MLB at Field of Dreams” game in August, as part of a three-year agreement with Major League Baseball. It’s modest compared to what ESPN and NBC secured in their deals, but it gives Netflix a foothold in baseball for the foreseeable future.
Netflix hasn’t announced its broadcast team or how Duncan will be used beyond hosting duties. The Opening Night game on March 25 will mark Netflix’s first baseball broadcast and Duncan’s first time hosting a major professional sport for the platform.
The deal isn’t exclusive. Duncan’s agent confirmed Netflix has “first position” for scheduling, but she can work elsewhere, which allows her to also host USA Sports’ WNBA coverage starting this season alongside current Atlanta Dream vice president Renee Montgomery.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.