Royals announce 2014 TV schedule

One of Kansas City sports ratings’ hits of 2013 is back for an expanded version this season.

The Royals and Fox Sports Kansas City announced Thursday that 156 of the team’s 162 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised, the most in club history.

Fox Sports Kansas City will air 150 games, and six others are scheduled to air on Fox and Fox Sports 1 as part of the network’s national television package.

Last year, the Royals set a team ratings record, as games on FSKC finished with an average rating of 6.4. The Aug. 13 telecast of a home game against the Marlins produced a 12.3 rating, a FSKC high for a Royals game.

The season average represented a 70 percent increase from the 3.8 average rating in 2012, and the year-to-year increase was the largest in baseball.

Royals’ TV ratings averaged sixth overall among the 30 clubs last year, up from 15th in 2012.

The Royals’ 86 victories were their most in a season since 1989, and fans couldn’t get enough. In the Kansas City market, Royals games finished first in prime time on 45 nights from June through September.

Ryan Lefebvre is scheduled to call 95 regular-season games and one exhibition, and Steve Physioc will provide the play-by-play for 55 games and one exhibition.

Rex Hudler returns for his third season as the analyst, and Royals Hall of Fame pitcher Jeff Montgomery will provide analysis on Royals Live, the pre- and post-game shows, along with host Joel Goldberg.

The televised exhibition games are March 17 against Texas at 8:05 p.m. Central and March 25 against Seattle at 8:05 p.m. Two more spring games will air on MLB Network: March 20 against the LA Angels at 3:05 p.m. and March 22 against Texas, also at 3:05 p.m.

: All times Central and p.m. unless noted and are subject to change

This story was originally published February 27, 2014 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Royals announce 2014 TV schedule."