The Royals are seeing robust viewership numbers for TV broadcasts and streaming
“If you build it, they will come” might be one of the more famous lines* in a baseball movie, but a slight alteration works for all of sports.
*In “Field of Dreams,” it’s actually “If you build it, he will come,” but why quibble over a word?
In the real world of baseball, the mantra is: If you win, fans will come.
The Royals have seen a bump in 25% attendance this season over a year ago when they lost 106 games. Being in the playoff hunt has made a big difference for the Royals, who have a 70-56 record this season.
The average attendance at Kauffman Stadium this season is 20,203 in 65 games. A year ago, the Royals averaged 16,136 fans per game.
There’s been an increase in television viewership, too.
A year ago, the Royals ranked 15th in local television ratings, per Forbes, which said they averaged a 2.6 rating in the 2023 season. But Bally Sports Kansas City said it is averaging over 34,000 households (3.3 rating) this year.
The two highest-rated Royals games (through Aug. 20) came in the past week. The Royals’ 5-3 win over the Angels on Monday was seen in more than 57,000 households (5.6 rating). Ratings for that game peaked at 6.5, Bally Sports said.
On Sunday, the Royals’ 8-1 win over the Reds had a 4.8 rating (nearly 49,000 households).
Streaming numbers on the Bally Sports app have jumped this season, too. The network said it has seen a 200% increase in unique streamers per game. That’s for direct-to-consumer and connected TV streamers (i.e. fans with smart TVs).
And a Royals official noted privately earlier this year that fans streaming games have been engaged for an average of more than two hours.
This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 11:10 AM.
