Royals Pivot to MLB-Run Broadcasts for 2026 Season, Launching Royals.TV
After days of uncertainty surrounding their local television future, the Kansas City Royals are officially charting a new course. The team announced it will partner with Major League Baseball to produce and distribute its games for the 2026 season, launching a new platform called Royals.TV.
The move comes just 48 hours after the Royals publicly expressed a desire to continue working with FanDuel Sports Kansas City. But behind the scenes, concerns about the stability of their broadcast partner clearly reached a tipping point. With Main Street Sports Group - the parent company of FanDuel Sports KC - teetering on the edge of a shutdown if a deal with DAZN doesn’t materialize, the Royals opted for a more secure route.
MLB Steps In - Again
Kansas City becomes one of six MLB teams now under the league’s broadcast umbrella, joining the Cardinals, Brewers, Marlins, Rays, and Reds. This isn’t uncharted territory for MLB, which previously took over broadcasts for the Padres and Diamondbacks amid similar regional sports network instability.
Royals president of business operations Cullen Maxey made it clear: the team needed certainty. “It is all about not having an interruption,” Maxey said during Saturday’s Royals Rally.
“When we need to weigh the stability of FanDuel, it’s all about: Is there a risk that we have any interruption to our games? And that’s going to be the No. 1 factor.”
With that risk looming, the Royals terminated their 2026 contract with Main Street Sports in January. While both sides hoped to renegotiate a new deal, time - and financial uncertainty - ran out.
What It Means for Fans
For Royals fans, the shift may actually bring more access, not less.
Games will still be available on traditional cable and satellite providers like DirecTV and Spectrum. Maxey noted that fans should expect to watch games “in the same ways that you did before,” thanks to MLB’s existing relationships with a wide range of linear distributors.
But the big addition is Royals.TV - a new streaming platform that gives fans in the Royals’ home television territory (which includes Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, and most of Missouri) the ability to stream every game for $99.99 per year via MLB.com or the MLB App. Those subscriptions are expected to go on sale later this month.
Out-of-market fans can still catch Royals games through the broader MLB.TV package, priced at $149.99 annually.
And for those who prefer free, over-the-air options? The Royals will have 10 games broadcast locally in Kansas City.
Same Voices, New Platform
While the broadcast platform is changing, the voices behind the mic aren’t.
Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler will remain in the booth, with Joel Goldberg and Jeff Montgomery continuing to anchor pregame and postgame coverage. That consistency should be a welcome comfort for fans adjusting to the new viewing setup.
The Financial Trade-Off
Of course, this shift isn’t without its drawbacks - particularly on the financial side.
The Royals are expected to earn less through MLB’s streaming and distribution revenue than they would have under their original agreement with Main Street Sports. But for the front office, the trade-off was worth it.
“From a financial standpoint, that ship has sailed,” Maxey said. “It is really all about reach. It’s all about getting out there to as many people as possible for Royals baseball.”
In today’s media landscape - where cord-cutting is accelerating and regional sports networks are facing existential threats - stability and accessibility are becoming more valuable than the highest bidder.
Bottom Line
The Royals are betting that a streamlined, league-run broadcast model will not only avoid disruption but also expand their reach to more fans, more consistently. With the launch of Royals.TV and MLB’s backing, Kansas City is embracing a new era of team-focused media - one that puts control back in the hands of the league and, ideally, brings the game closer to the fans who matter most.