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Despite their disappointing recent homestand, the Royals are still off to one of their best starts in over a decade, and it turns out, fans like to watch successful ball clubs. From the Royals:
The 26 games televised by FOX Sports Kansas City in June averaged a 6.5 household rating, up 29 percent over the May average of 5.1.
FOX Sports Kansas City dominated prime time viewing, ranking as the No. 1 channel in Kansas City on 13 of the 15 nights the Royals played in June, including the last nine in a row.
#Royals TV ratings on FSKC up to 6.5 in June, up from 5.1 in May. Now 5.8 for the year, compared to 6.4 for all of last season.
— Chris Fickett (@ChrisFickett) July 1, 2014
The ten game winning streak carried viewership over to the recent homestand, as excitement built in Kansas City.
#royals averaged a 7.6 rating on FSKC during last 9-game homestand
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@jflanagankc) July 1, 2014
This doesn't mean extra revenue for the ballclub however, as the club is locked into one of the lowest-earning TV deals in baseball, with the club earning $20 million each year from Fox Sports Kansas City until 2019. The team did see a spike in attendance at the most recent homestand, with 26,533 coming out per game, including an impressive 28,302 fans on a gorgeous Tuesday evening against the Dodgers.
Is the extra revenue generated enough to justify the highest payroll in franchise history? Or will David Glass look at the balance ledger and decide that the investment is just not worth it?