Royals to announce broadcast plans for 2025 in coming days. Amazon is in the mix
Royals fans should know by the end of the week how they can watch and stream the team’s games in the 2025 season.
The Diamond Sports Group, which aired Royals games on Bally Sports Kansas City last season, announced in October its intention to renegotiate its contract with the team.
That gave the Royals two likely options: seek a new deal with Diamond Sports Group for less money or have Major League Baseball take over broadcasting its games on the league’s TV channel.
A source with the Royals said the team will announce its plan in the coming days.
Should the Royals stay with Diamond Sports Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2023, fans will notice a few differences. First is the name of the network broadcasting games. It was rebranded from Bally Sports KC to FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City.
Diamond Sports Group on Wednesday announced a multi-year agreement with Amazon Prime Video, which would allow Royals fans another way to access games. Games on Amazon Prime would be available in “each team’s designated geographic area.”
That area is the same as it was for fans who streamed games on the Bally Sports Kansas City app this past season.
If Royals games are on FanDuel Sports in 2025, there would be an “add on subscription” for Amazon Prime customers. That means fans would face an additional fee beyond what they pay for an Amazon subscription.
An ESPN story noted “Diamond ... is scheduled to begin its confirmation hearing Thursday, during which a federal judge will determine whether to approve the operator’s go-forward plan (for reorganizing its debt).”
The Royals are not part of the bankruptcy process, ESPN said, because they maintain partial ownership of their Regional Sports Network (RSN).
