Bally Sports has been rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network
The Royals announced today they have a new TV deal with Diamond Sports Group, the parent company for FanDuel Sports Network, previously known as Bally Sports. The embattled company emerged from bankruptcy last month. Terms and length of the deal have not yet been disclosed, although Royals club president Brooks Sherman indicated it was a short-term deal.
“I would just look at it as a 2025 deal and we will look at our options down the road,” Sherman said. “And what I would say though is that our fans, we will keep them well informed on how they can access our games as we move through 2025 and beyond.”
Royals games will air on the FanDuel Sports Network, which is available on cable providers such as DirectTV, Spectrum, and Xfinity. Games will also stream on a direct-to-consumer app just as they did last summer, with the new service called the FanDuel Sports Network App. Additionally, FanDuel has a deal with Amazon Prime Video to stream games through that service as an additional “add-on” service with a cost that has yet to be determined, although it will only be available for in-market viewers.
The Royals ended last season with more than 40,000 streaming subscribers, according to figures from the team, the biggest subscriber growth in baseball. Overall the Royals had a 32 percent increase in viewership on TV, the biggest jump in baseball.
A broadcast crew has not yet been announced for next year, although Sherman indicated they plan to have discussions to return last year’s team. No broadcast TV schedule has yet been announced, although the agreement covers all non-nationally televised regular season games, as well as spring training.
Sherman did allude to games potentially being broadcast over air with a local TV station in the near future, according to Jaylon Thompson. Some teams have sought to go that route for greater exposure with fans. The NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans left Diamond to broadcast games for free on over-the-air channels.
Reports surfaced last month that the Royals were negotiating a return to Diamond Sports. The team reportedly did consider an offer to have MLB broadcast games next year, but opted to go with Diamond Sports instead. The Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins have all left Diamond to have MLB broadcast their games next year, while the Texas Rangers left Diamond to start their own network. Diamond Sports did rework a deal with the Cardinals that will reportedly pay them 20 percent less than what they received under their old deal.
Diamond Sports has been criticized for being a tough negotiator with streaming platforms, causing games to be unavailable on many services, including YouTubeTV. The direct-to-consumer streaming app - known last year as the Bally Sports App - also had several technical glitches. Out-of-market viewers are also subject to blackout restrictions, leaving many fans frustrated.
This is most likely a short-term deal - possibly even for just one year, as MLB tries to collect TV rights. MLB is planning to create national packages for major streaming companies to bid on by 2028 that would be free of blackout restrictions. Last month Diamond Sports announced they would drop coverage of several teams in 2025 when they were in bankruptcy court, which left teams scrambling for a broadcast partner.
