For Kansas City Royals fans who cut the cord, a new option is coming this season
Google’s decision to no longer offer its cable package has removed another option for Royals fans to watch games during the 2022 season.
When the Royals’ first spring-training game aired Sunday on Bally Sports Kansas City, fans who dropped their cable subscription once again expressed their frustration with a lack of streaming option.
“Year 2 of not being in any of the big streaming platforms, or having a standalone platform, or MLB-TV being available in local market,” a Royals fan named Bill, who lives in Overland Park, wrote on Twitter. “Baseball has got it’s finger on the pulse of the fan and where media is heading. You can stream ... softball games today, but not the Royals.”
There is good news for those fans.
The New York Post reported the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns Bally Sports Kansas City, is planning to roll out a new direct-to-consumer app in five of its markets, including Kansas City. This would allow fans to watch games without needing a subscription to a cable or satellite service that offers Bally Sports on its plans.
A source confirmed Kansas City will be part of Sinclair’s new service. However, it wouldn’t be offered until the summer at the earliest.
In a chat with reporters at spring training, Royals chairman/CEO John Sherman said making games accessible to fans was vitally important.
“We’re working on some things. Sinclair is working on some things,” Sherman said about streaming options. “Then long-term, I think there are some really exciting solutions. I don’t know how long it will take. The whole landscape is changing, streaming, the way young people consume the game and connect to teams and players. But there’s a lot of work being done at MLB right now with some really bright people on our media committee. And we’re monitoring Sinclair and that whole situation.
“When you think about that, reach is more important than revenue for us in baseball. I think a lot of what you heard during the CBA was all we cared about was revenue. But reach is more important than revenue. Revenue will come if we connect with more fans over time. That’s the strategy that we’re employing. How we get there, I think there’s some turbulence. But we want to make it easy for people to connect and see our games.”
Current streaming options
In 2020, Hulu Live, Dish TV and YouTube TV quit carrying Bally Sports Kansas City (then called Fox Sports KC), leaving many fans who stream sports frustrated. Currently the only choice is DirecTV Stream, which was formerly known as the AT&T TV streaming service. Spectrum and Xfinity cable in the Kansas City area also carry Bally Sports.
The MLB.TV streaming option only applies to areas that don’t have blackout restrictions, which rules out an area from Iowa to Kansas City to northern Arkansas.
No word on whether the forthcoming Bally app will be available outside of the Kansas City metro area, but for Royals fans in KC, this will be a new option.
A new era
In a February earnings call, Sinclair SEO Chris Ripley discussed the latest on the direct-to-consumer (D2C) app that will be available to fans without a cable subscription. In addition to the app’s debut in five markets, Sinclair plans to launch for the rest of its Regional Sports Networks viewers in the second half of this year.
Ripley said an analysis shows 36% of U.S. adults would be interested in subscribing to an Regional Sports Network app, such as Bally Sports KC, “irrespective of price.”
A year ago, there was talk of a $23 a month price tag for streaming Royals games on the new app. The Post story said the Cubs were working on an app with Sinclair, which does not have a channel in Chicago, and the cost would be $18 per month. That could be the cost for Royals fans, too.
Ripley believes the app will usher in a new era of sports viewing.
“The D2C product isn’t just a way for those without linear subscriptions to access the game and content, it is the start of a new paradigm of how fans can watch and engage with their local teams,” Ripley said. “It will be more personalized and interactive sports watching experience offering virtual fandoms and social communities where viewers can interact with each other, as well as integrating the world of NFTs and eCommerce.
“We launched an NFT store last week, which will offer original artwork as well as third-party collections. Gamification is another important element allowing viewers the opportunity to participate and watch and play viewer experiences. We’re partnering with leading gaming and technology companies that engage fans in free to play daily fantasy and were legal real money games.”
