Royals’ TV ratings took a hit this season as they tied a dubious franchise record
Major League Baseball’s standings weren’t the only way to tell the Royals had a dismal 2023 season.
The Royals, who tied a franchise record with 106 losses, finished 28th in attendance, as the team drew 1,307,052 fans to Kauffman Stadium. That was ahead of only the A’s, who seek to leave Oakland, and the Miami Marlins.
One silver lining: that was a slight increase over the attendance in 2022 (1,277,686) and 2021 (1,159,613).
Another indication of the Royals’ struggles could be seen in their television ratings on Bally Sports Kansas City.
The Business Journal’s Austin Karp looked at the local television ratings for all 30 Major League Baseball teams, and the Royals had the second-largest drop in viewership by percentage.
Although the Royals’ 2.60 rating on Bally Sports KC was the 13th highest in baseball, it represented a 30% decrease from 2022, the Business Journal reported. The only team to see a steeper decline this season were the Chicago White Sox (41%).
The ratings don’t include streaming numbers on Bally Sports KC.
Besides the losses, the Royals TV ratings likely were hurt by the continuing cord-cutting trend.
The Street reported that major cable providers have lost about six million paid TV subscribers each year from 2019 to 2022, and more than 2.3 million people cut the cord just in the first quarter of 2023.
Royals fans continue to be frustrated by the lack of affordable options to stream the team’s games. While games are available to stream on FuboTV, DirecTV Stream and Bally Sports KC, they are no longer offered on YouTubeTV or SlingTV, two popular options among cord-cutters.
