Don’t have cable? This article will explain how you can stream the next Bulls game and every Cleveland Cavaliers game this season, no matter where you live.
Watch Every Cavaliers Game This Season
- Cleveland Cavaliers TV Market: throughout Ohio, as well as parts of Indiana, Kentucky, northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Tennessee, border communities of West Virginia, and extreme southwestern New York
- Best Solution when inside their TV Market: Watch on Bally Sports Ohio (BSA) through the DIRECTV STREAM streaming service (sign up online). There are a handful of Cavaliers games on TNT this season not on BSO. I’ll get into some options for that below. While there are a few Cavaliers games on ESPN this season, those will air on Bally Sports Ohio.
- Best Solution when living Outside the Cavaliers TV Market: Watch nearly all Cavaliers games on NBA League Pass (sign up online). The Cavaliers have a few nationally televised games on ESPN and TNT which won’t be on NBA League Pass. Read on to learn how to watch those nationally televised games.
What Channel Are The Cavaliers On
Where you can watch the Cleveland Cavaliers depends on whether or not you live inside the Cleveland Cavaliers TV market (throughout Ohio, as well as parts of Indiana, Kentucky, northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Tennessee, border communities of West Virginia, and extreme southwestern New York). If you live inside that market, you can watch Cavaliers games on Bally Sports Ohio using a streaming service that carries the network. However, if you live outside that market, you will need a subscription to NBA League Pass, and a streaming service that carries ESPN, ABC, and TNT. Let’s take a look at your options based on where you live.
Watching Cavaliers Games In Market
If you live in the Cavaliers TV market, you can watch most Cavaliers games on Bally Sports Ohio, the Cavaliers regional sports network. If you live in the Cavaliers broadcast areas, you can watch their regional sports network without cable on the following streaming services that also carry TNT.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM is a live streaming service that carries Bally Sports Ohio for those living in their broadcast region. However, you must subscribe to their “Choice” package for $108.99 per month. You can sign up online. They don’t force you into a contract, and you can cancel at any time. DIRECTV STREAM also carries ESPN, NBA TV, ABC, and TNT, which are all the networks that air nationally televised NBA games.
The service also includes a cloud DVR service and allows you to simultaneously stream to an unlimited number of devices in the home, and up to 3 outside the home. DIRECTV STREAM is supported on Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Android, Roku, and more. See our review of DIRECTV STREAM for more details on this streaming service.
Bally Sports+
Bally Sports has a direct-to-customer streaming service called Bally Sports Plus. Bally Sports+ carries Cleveland Cavaliers games airing on Bally Sports. Bally Sports+ is currently available on iOS and Android mobile smart devices, along with tvOS (Apple TV), Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs. See our article, Is Bally Sports Worth the Price for more details.
You can subscribe to Bally Sports+ at BallySportsPlus.com for $189.99 annually or $19.99 each month and live stream games airing on Bally Sports Ohio or Bally Sports Ohio Extra through the Bally Sports app. To subscribe, you must live in the Bally Sports Ohio TV market. You are most likely outside the intended TV market if you do not see Bally Sports+ available on BallySportsPlus.com or within the Bally Sports app. You won’t have access to all the channels you get with DIRECTV STREAM, but it’s a cheaper way to watch Bally Sports Ohio.
Watching Cavaliers Games Outside of Their TV Market
If you live outside the Cavaliers market, then most games will be available with a subscription to NBA League Pass. The exception is Cavaliers games nationally broadcast on ESPN and TNT. To watch those games, you need a streaming service that carries those channels; like DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu Live TV, or YouTube TV. I cover these services below.
NBA League Pass
To watch most Cavaliers games if you live outside the Cleveland market, you will need NBA League Pass. NBA League Pass will show every Cavaliers game except the one exclusively airing nationally on ESPN. NBA League Pass also provides access to NBA TV, so you are covered when they broadcast the occasional Cavaliers game.
NBA League Pass provides three ways to subscribe:
- Team Pass – Watch live, out-of-market games for the Cleveland Cavaliers for $13.99 per month or $89.99 per year.
- League Pass – Watch live, out-of-market games for the Cleveland Cavaliers and every other team for $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
- Premium League Pass – Watch live, out-of-market games for every team for $22.99 per month or $149.99 per year. (commercial-free)
Keep in mind that there are blackout rules in effect. Games won’t be aired live if:
- They are being broadcast on ESPN, ABC, or TNT. (NBA TV is included with a subscription to NBA League pass.
- They are being broadcast where you live on the regional sports network’s broadcast area that owns the rights to air NBA games in your area. You will need a streaming service that carries your regional sports network like DIRECTV STREAM (sign up), to watch those games.
The Cavaliers Game on TNT and ESPN
DIRECTV STREAM, Sling, Hulu Live TV, or YouTube TV carry TNT and ESPN to watch the Cavaliers exclusive national broadcasts on those networks. Note that NBA TV is included with a subscription to NBA League Pass. So, just one of those services in addition to a subscription to NBA League Pass will provide live access to every Cavaliers game if you live outside their TV market.
Sling TV‘s Orange Plan carries TNT and ESPN for a cost of $40 per month. Signing up for this Sling Plan and NBA League Pass will allow you to watch all 82 Cavaliers games this season if you live outside of their TV market. You pay month to month with no contract and can cancel at any time. The service supports iOS, Android, Fire TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, and more. The base price includes a cloud DVR. (see our review of Sling TV)
DIRECTV STREAM includes ESPN and TNT and costs $79.99 per month. The service carries ABC which also airs NBA games. NBA TV is available on an upgraded plan. You can take advantage of their 5-day free trial. and they don’t force you into a contract, so you can cancel at any time. The service also includes a cloud DVR service and allows you to simultaneously stream to an unlimited number of devices in the home, and up to 3 outside the home. DIRECTV STREAM is supported on Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Android, Roku, and more. See our review of DIRECTV STREAM for more details on this streaming service.
YouTube TV also provides ESPN and TNT in their base package for $72.99 per month if you live in their broadcast area. YouTube TV also includes ABC which air nationally broadcasted NBA games throughout the season. The live streaming service also includes a DVR and supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. Like the other services, YouTube TV offers a free trial, cloud DVR, local broadcast channels, and many other features. Please read our review of YouTube TV for more details on their service.
Hulu Live TV costs $76.99 per month. After you sign up, the service provides ESPN, TNT, and ABC so you can watch nationally televised NBA games. You pay month to month with no contract and can cancel at any time. The service supports iOS, Android, Fire TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, and more. The base price includes a cloud DVR and the ability to stream on two devices at once, but the option to upgrade to unlimited streams. Hulu Live TV includes Hulu streaming library. (see our review of Hulu Live TV)
