Cavs announce agreement with DAZN, removing games from cable

If you want to watch Cavaliers games in 2026-27, you’d better be ready to pay.

That’s because the Cavs announced a multi-year agreement with streaming service DAZN, meaning their local games will no longer be available through a traditional cable arrangement.

The cost starts at $19.99 a month. There is one exception. Fifteen games will be available for free through a yet-to-be-announced over-the-air television partner. The Cavs also have 17 nationally televised games that won’t be part of the DAZN package.

For everything else, it’s DAZN. According to the Cavs, a subscription will also include a “weekly show” and “extended game highlights,” with the service available on smart TVs, mobile devices, web browsers, game consoles and streaming platforms.

The Cavs’ Rock Entertainment Sports Network will take over production. And apparently, production is getting a fairly significant makeover.

“For us, it was really important that we started playing offense with production,” Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barlage said, via Cleveland.com. “If you watched our games over the last handful of years, they lacked investment, they lacked innovation.”

Barlage said the Cavs are making a “multi-seven-figure commitment” that will increase broadcasts from six cameras to 19, along with new graphics, alternate broadcasts, multiview options and other features.

What won’t change is most of the on-air crew. Play-by-play announcer John Michael, analyst Brad Daugherty, reporter Serena Winters and pre- and postgame host Cayleigh Griffin will return. That said, the Cavs’ announcement did not mention longtime fan favorite Austin Carr.

The deal covers the Cavs’ entire local territory, which Barlage defined as Ohio, western Pennsylvania and upstate New York.

DAZN subscription options

Monthly Pass: $19.99 per month, with two streams in one location.

Monthly Pass Ultimate: $24.99 per month, with five streams in two locations, multiview, alternate angles and feeds.

Season Pass: $119.99 per year, with two streams in one location.

Season Pass Ultimate: $139.99 per year, with five streams in two locations, multiview, alternate angles and feeds.

Full- and half-season Cavs ticket members will receive complimentary subscriptions. The NBA has discussed eventually taking a larger role in regional broadcasts beginning in 2027-28. How that ultimately fits with the Cavs’ new multi-year arrangement … well, we’ll just have to wait and see.