With the 2026 World Baseball Classic set to start Thursday, those planning to cheer on Samurai Japan alongside fellow fans at a sports bar might find themselves out of luck.

As the WBC will only be streamed on Netflix, sports bars across the country are not allowed to or are discouraged from broadcasting the games for commercial use.

In an inquiry from The Japan Times, Netflix said its services are ¡°limited to the customer¡¯s personal, noncommercial use.¡±

¡°We would like customers to refrain from using it for commercial purposes,¡± Netflix said in a statement, although it declined to comment when asked what it would do if sports bars plan to hold live viewings.

For fans, it will be a completely different experience from the past, when WBC games were aired via domestic TV broadcasters for free, allowing sports bars to air them at their venues as they pleased.

During the 2023 WBC, Bourbon Street, a sports bar in Tokyo¡¯s Shibuya Ward, had a packed audience for each game, similar to the FIFA World Cup. But this time, a Bourbon Street official said it can¡¯t broadcast the games due to the restrictions.

¡°It¡¯ll cause a problem if we do it publicly,¡± said the official, who asked not to be named. ¡°Those who are hosting live viewing events would be doing it unauthorized.¡±

But Bourbon Street will allow users who bring their own streaming devices, such as a Fire TV Stick, to plug them into a TV at the bar, log in using their personal accounts and watch the games.

Karaoke venues are offering similar services. Karaoke Pasela chain, for one, is taking reservations for those who want to watch the WBC games in a small group at its closed karaoke rooms, provided they log into their own Netflix accounts.

Meanwhile, other sports bars are discreetly planning live viewings while describing them as ¡°privately hosted events.¡±

¡°Do not contact the bar itself for inquiries,¡± said a website post sharing information on a live viewing event in Tokyo¡¯s Shibuya district.

While sports bars are discouraged from airing the games, official public viewings are expected to be held at about 150 venues across Japan, some of them where Samurai Japan players are from, according to local media.

Among them are free public viewings at nine shopping malls across Japan ¡ª from Tokyo, Chiba and Osaka prefectures to Kagoshima Prefecture ¡ª hosted by beverage company Ito En. It said in a statement that those who cannot watch the games at the stadium or in their homes can enjoy the games at the viewing venues.