Koby Altman Addresses Cavaliers' DAZN Deal, Broadcast Cost Concerns

Cleveland Cavaliers games that are not carried nationally will stream on DAZN this season under a multi-year deal the team announced Sept. 1.

DAZN will also carry Cavaliers preseason games and team-produced programming. Fans can buy a monthly pass for $19.99 or a regular season pass for $119.99. The regular pass allows two streams in one location. An "ultimate" season pass costs $139.99.

Sports Business Journal reported that the DAZN deal runs five years at an annual rights fee of about $20 million. Cleveland's previous agreement with FanDuel Sports Network paid the team about $35 million a year.

Cleveland will not make much money on the broadcasts because of how much it is spending on them, Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said Friday, when he and head coach Kenny Atkinson met with reporters before training camp.

"The complicated part is that we don't want it to be difficult to find our games," Altman said. "Obviously there's the paywall, streaming, and the environment we're in. The positive the public hasn't seen yet is us taking our product in-house and really owning it. That includes how high quality it's going to be."

"We're investing in talent, production, more camera angles, different ways to view the game, and different stat packages," Altman continued. "We're not going to make a ton of money doing this because we're putting so much money into it. When fans see the product, they're going to appreciate the quality, thought process, and talent level. We haven't had the ability to own our own product, so I don't think we're ever going to lose that."

"The bigger question is local and regional deals across the NBA landscape: does the league take that over into a bigger package, or does somebody bid for it and make it easier for fans to navigate?" Altman added. "We're not the only team facing that uphill battle. I understand the frustration about cost, difficulty finding games, and paywalls."

Main Street's collapse left 13 NBA teams looking for new local partners. The company did not make its 2026 rights payments to those teams, and the shortfall lowered the league's projected salary cap for this season by $1 million.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were the first of the 13 to sign a streaming-only local deal, on July 30. DAZN also became the exclusive digital platform this year for MSG Networks and YES Network, which carry the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.

Cleveland will also air 15 games for free. Those games will be simulcast on Gray Media stations WOIO and WUAB in Cleveland and on Rock Entertainment Sports Network across Ohio.

Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barlage said in the team's announcement that the broadcasts pair the in-house production at Rock Entertainment Sports Network with DAZN's platform.

"The investment we're making in our broadcast platform creates a fan-centric destination that enriches the experience while simplifying how fans connect to Cavaliers basketball," Barlage said.

For 36 years, a regional sports network carried the Cavaliers. That network ran as SportsChannel Ohio in the 1990s, Fox Sports Ohio from 1998 to 2021, and Bally Sports Ohio before FanDuel took over the name.

Two additional games will be added to the Cavaliers' 80-game 2026-27 schedule pending the outcome of Emirates NBA Cup matchups.

Cleveland opens the season Oct. 22 at the Philadelphia 76ers. The first DAZN broadcast is the home opener Oct. 24 against the Brooklyn Nets at Rocket Arena.