Kansas City Royals exploring option to have some 2025 games air on local TV station
When the Royals games moved to Fox Sports Net Midwest in 2008, it marked the end of an era.
Not only was the Royals Sports Television Network dissolved, but the 2008 season marked the first time games weren’t broadcast over the air on a local television. In 2007, the Royals had 14 games broadcast for free on local TV.
Royals games could be returning to local television starting in 2025.
In discussing the team’s new broadcast deal with the Diamond Sports Group, Royals president of business operations Brooks Sherman talked Monday about the possibility of games being back on local TV.
Fans wouldn’t need a cable or streaming subscription to watch.
“We’re going to need to work through this, but we will likely be able to have some games over the air,” Sherman said. “And that’s going to involve reaching an agreement with (a) television station to put it over the air here in local territory on a few games, whether that’s 10 or 12, something like that.
“But that’s a real possibility for us, and so we view that as a big positive as well here. That’s the next step here too. We need to get this rights agreement, talk to broadcasters and work through that.”
Any game that airs on a local Kansas City television station would be a simulcast of the FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City broadcast.
While national MLB games are shown on Fox 4 in Kansas City, few if any teams have their local broadcasts shown without a cable or streaming subscription in their local market.
But Sherman thinks that could change.
“It wouldn’t surprise me that you’ll see some of this go on here now,” Sherman said. “Getting through the blackouts thing, you know, and so the direct to consumer is the easiest way.
“But also, then to put games out there over the air. You might find somebody that (says), ‘Wow, I hadn’t paid attention to the Royals on television. I don’t have cable.’ And then they find out about direct to consumer (option). ... So we think it could be good all the way around.“
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 9:47 AM.
