It’s easier than ever to watch
Baseball season is here finally here, but thanks to a tumultuous media landscape, figuring out how to watch Royals games has been a bit of a chore. Fans will encounter another change this year, as Bally Sports Kansas City has been rebranded to FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City.
The good news is that it is now arguably easier than it has ever been to watch Royals baseball—especially if you don’t live in the Kansas City metro. For a look at the larger broadcast schedule and which games will be nationally or locally televised, check out our guide on Royals games on television. Here, we’ll explore a few specific questions about how to watch the games depending on where you may live.
One quick note: we’ll ignore the nationally televised contests, as those will be available regardless of your televised market.
How to watch Royals games in Kansas City
FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City is the regional sports network operating in the Kansas City metro. It carries all Royals games, and you can access the channel via:
- Charter Spectrum, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, U-verse TV, and Xtream powered by Mediacom. You can find if the channel is available via cable or satellite in your area at getmyhometeams.com.
- FuboTV streaming service
- FanDuel Sports Network streaming service (either by itself or as an add-on to Amazon Prime)
- Over-the-air TV for 10 games (on KCTV 5 or KSMO)
FuboTV, FanDuel streaming, and Amazon Prime are available on a variety of devices, including game consoles and smart TVs. Check app availability before assuming that you’ll be able to access that specific app on the device of your choice. The most economical choice for most people will be to sign up for the FanDuel Sports Network streaming service for $19.99 per month or $105.99 per season unless you already have the channel via cable or already use FuboTV.
FanDuel Sports Network is not available on YouTube TV or Sling TV.
How to watch Royals games if you’re not in Kansas City
Once again, FanDuel Sports Network carries Royals games if you’re not in Kansas City, but how you are able to watch Royals games depends on the MLB blackout map and where you live.
MLB blackout map
The below map shows MLB TV blackout areas and each team territory. Royals territory is marked in lavender and includes all of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas along with most of Missouri except for the area around St. Louis.
If you live in Royals territory
If you reside somewhere in the Royals territory outside the Kansas City metro, you do not get access to FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City but you can still access other FanDuel Sports Network channels that have Royals games. To double-check availability, visit FanDuel’s getmyhometeams.com website and enter your zip code. If Royals games are available, it will show the Royals logo in the list of available teams.
The best way to watch the Royals if you live outside of the Kansas City metro but still somewhere in the Royals territory is to stream it via the FanDuel streaming app. While FanDuel Sports Network Midwest/Southwest/North may be available on your traditional cable channel list (or via FuboTV) and say that they carry Royals games, programming conflicts mean that Royals games can be occasionally unavailable.
However, I have confirmed with a FanDuel representative that all Royals games will be available in the FanDuel streaming app within the blackout area. In other words, if you live in non-KC markets like Des Moines, Tulsa, Omaha, or Oklahoma City, you’ll be able to watch every Royals game if you subscribe to the FanDuel streaming app.
If you don’t live in Royals territory
If you’re outside Royals territory in cities like Chicago, Denver, or Indianapolis, you can subscribe to MLB.TV and access Royals games. You can choose the single-team package or the whole league.
The only wrinkle with this is that blackout rules apply, and you will not be able to watch the Royals if they play a team in your individual blackout area. So if you live in Dallas and subscribe to MLB.TV to watch the Royals, you won’t be able to see games when the Royals are playing the Rangers.
Conclusion
It’s easier than ever to watch Royals games—remember when Fox Sports Kansas City just didn’t carry some games? Now, every Royals game is on TV somewhere, with nationally televised games and locally televised games in addition to FanDuel Sports Network cable and streaming availability.
Just remember to check FanDuel package availability and you’ll be good to go. For this year, at least; next year could be a different story. But hey, there are 162 games to watch (and hopefully more) before we think about what’s next.