Cavs playoff coverage shift leaves fans scrambling, frustrated

It’s safe to say Cavs fans aren’t exactly thrilled about how they’ll have to watch the playoffs.

As you likely know, this marks the first season that the FanDuel Sports Network Cleveland won’t carry first-round games, ending a run of more than 20 years. (FanDuel was formerly known as Bally Sports and, before that, Fox Sports Ohio.)

Instead, the Cavs-Raptors series will tip off Saturday at 1 p.m. EST on … Amazon Prime. Game 2 is Monday night on … Peacock. Game 3? Back to Prime. You get the idea.

So if you have FanDuel Sports Network, or are clinging to cable, you’re out of luck.

But more significantly to many Cavs fans, you won’t be hearing the home side of things. No John Michael. No Brad Daugherty. No Austin Carr. Nothing local at all.

“This really blows that the only way to see the games is to subscribe to some useless platform like Peacock or ESPN that charges outrageous fees,” Hoops Wire reader Joseph Fabeetz commented on a recent post. “I guess it’s not as bad as the outrageous ticket prices to see them in person. I am becoming an apathetic fan to the association.”

Generally, regional networks get to carry games all the way to the conference finals. And if not then, at least every first-round game.

This year? Well, FanDuel Sports regionals are done carrying NBA games for forever. The company that owns the Cavs’ regional network is bankrupt. The run is officially over.

But that’s not any easier on fans.

“I do have Prime, but it’s unfortunate. I kind of hate that everything moved on to streaming. It’s not fair for actual fans,” Mere Boylan told Fox 8.

Some fans don’t have streaming. Nor do they want to pay for two different services for two playoff games. But that’s the reality of this season.

Next season? It will be different. Cavs games will return to a regional network and be available locally again. Many suspect it will be the Dan Gilbert-owned Rocket Entertainment Sports Network. But that is nothing more than a hunch, and that doesn’t do fans much good today.

The playoffs are here. Some fans of the Cavaliers will just have to hope for the best and that their favorite team advances to regular games on ESPN and NBC. And, hey, ABC for the Finals.

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