The Cavaliers are making a major change to how fans watch their games, and for longtime viewers, it could feel like one more hurdle in a league that keeps asking people to chase the action across screens and subscriptions.
Cleveland announced Tuesday that its local broadcasts are moving to DAZN, a streaming service that will cost $19.99 per month. The team said 15 games will still be available free over the air, and 17 national broadcasts are also part of the mix.
For the rest, DAZN will be the door. That means downloading the app, creating an account, entering a credit card and figuring out which television can actually run it. For a fan who has spent decades finding the Cavs the same way every night, that is a much different routine.
NBA games already live in a scattered world. Some are still on traditional television, while others have moved to streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, which carried Cavs playoff games last season.
The frustration here isn’t about resisting change for the sake of it. The league is evolving, and so are the business models around it. But the way those changes land matters, especially for fans who have been with a team for 40 or 50 years.
That’s where Phoenix offers a sharp contrast. Suns owner Mat Ishbia moved games to free over-the-air television in 2023, and the team recently extended that setup through 2030. At least 75 Suns regular-season games will be available free in Arizona, keeping the viewing process as simple as it gets: turn on the TV, find the channel, watch Devin Booker.
Cleveland, meanwhile, is putting real money into the new broadcast setup. The Cavaliers are moving from six cameras to 19 and adding new technology, with a significant investment behind the production.
That may make for a better broadcast. It still doesn’t solve the basic problem for the fan who just wants to watch the game without turning it into a tech project.
I’ve covered the NBA full-time for more than two decades, and I’ve watched the league move from local television to regional sports networks to streaming services, national streaming services and apps scattered everywhere. Some of that shift was inevitable.
But accessibility shouldn’t mean accessible only to people who know how to navigate six different streaming services.
That matters in a sport where fandom gets handed down. The 75-year-old who watched Bingo Smith might be the reason his 45-year-old daughter became a Cavs fan, who might be the reason her 15-year-old son watches Donovan Mitchell.
The NBA wants younger viewers, and it should. It just shouldn’t forget the people who were there before those viewers were born.
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