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.