CLEVELAND, OHIO — The Cleveland Cavaliers are expanding their free local television schedule while launching a separate paid streaming relationship, creating a distribution model that treats broadcast reach and subscriptions as complementary products.
The Cavaliers and Gray Media will televise 15 regular-season games free over the air during the 2026–27 season. In Cleveland, the games will air on WOIO-TV and WUAB-TV and will also be distributed statewide through the Rock Entertainment Sports Network.
Gray stations in Cincinnati and Lima, Ohio, and Parkersburg, West Virginia, are included in the package. Gray also says it intends to recruit additional third-party affiliates, potentially extending the free broadcasts into more communities.
Free television expands from five games to 15
The new schedule triples the five-game free television package offered last season. The 15 broadcasts will simulcast games that are also available through the Cavaliers’ new subscription arrangement with DAZN.
That combination matters because regional sports distribution has increasingly been framed as a choice between a paid direct-to-consumer service and traditional television. Cleveland is testing a hybrid: selected games remain available to any household with an antenna while the subscription platform offers a broader paid product.
Free broadcasts can reach casual fans, older viewers and households without reliable or affordable broadband. They can also serve as promotion for the team’s full-season streaming service. DAZN, meanwhile, gives the club a direct relationship with paying customers and more control over digital distribution.
The business questions remain open
The announcement does not disclose how advertising inventory will be divided, what participating local affiliates will earn or how much audience information those stations will receive. Those details will determine whether the free package becomes a meaningful local-media business or simply a promotional window for the subscription service.
RNN will also watch whether the broadcast games convert viewers into DAZN subscribers, whether production and announcer teams remain consistent across platforms and how quickly additional affiliates join the network.
Sources: The Cleveland Cavaliers’ official announcement and DAZN’s partnership announcement.